Metroid: Rosario
by Draconeelans
Summary: Devon, a person with a mysterious past, is brought to Yokai Academy to attend school and try to find a peaceful life. Will he be able to find that peace, or will his past catch up to him. Hopefully with the help of new friends, he will be able to find a life that he always wanted. As long as he doesn't lose his cool over his friends fighting over him. Rating may change later on.
1. Prologue

**Well, here's another story that came to me. It was actually one I wanted to write a while ago, but I just couldn't figure out how to start it. I finally decided, and this is the result! I will say it now and will say it forever more, I DO NOT own anything from the Rosario Vampire or Metroid universes. Those rights belong to thier respective owners/creators. I only own my OC. **

* * *

_Unknown planet, approx. 16 years after the events of _Metroid: Fusion.

KABOOOOOOOM

The explosion rocked the entire surrounding rocky landscape, sending the indigenous creatures bounding out of the area. Two figures ran as fast as they could, dodging energy blasts that were flying past them. Firing those blasts were multiple insectoid creatures, wielding small arm cannons strapped to their wrists. The creatures chittered amongst each other as they pursued their prey. The two figures that were being pursued turned occasionally to fire a shot or two back at their pursuers, before retuning back to running.

One figure was clad entirely in a suit of armor. The armor was mostly orange, with a lighter torso, and a red helmet with a green visor. The armor was sleek in appearance, and didn't seem to hamper the wearer's movements despite the seemingly oversized shoulder parts. The greatest feature of the suit however, was a cannon on the right arm. The large weapon started at the elbow, and completely covered the wielders arm. Whipping around at another volley of shots, the armored figure crouched, before launching a missile out of the cannon. The projectile flew straight and true, hitting the leading insectoid in the chest, blasting the creature into chunks, forcing the other creatures to seek shelter. The armored being turned to it's companion, signaling to keep moving.

The other being, a boy no older than 15, nodded, hefting the large rifle-like weapon in his hands. The boy had brown hair, with a blonde streak running from his forehead down to his left ear. He had a fair skin tone, though it was hard to tell with the dirt and grime that covered him. His eyes were a sharp blue-green. His eyes held a certain light to them, a light that stemmed from a harsh lifestyle. He was dressed in what appeared to be a standard military uniform, one he had salvaged from one of the groups chasing them. Both figures continued running, as the sound of gunfire erupted behind them, the Galactic Federation had caught up.

'At least they'll slow those Space Pirates down,' the boy thought to himself. He and his armored companion kept running, trying to put as much distance between themselves and their pursuers as possible. 'We need somewhere to hide,' he said to himself, 'Somewhere, well hidden, even from the air... There!'

The boy had spotted a cave, it was a good mile away, and was pretty small, but he could tell it was deep. It was also located behind a few shrubs, with a large overhang, that could easily be blasted down, should they need to do so. 'Thank god for my sharp eyesight...' The boy signaled his companion when the two of them got close to the opening. The armored figure nodded, as the two made their way to the cave. As they both managed to get in, the armored figure needing to almost crawl in, the cave opened up about 20 feet in. Reaching this wider area, the two companions decided to take a quick break, seeing as it would be hard to spot the cave, unless their pursuers walked right up to the entrance. Both spent a few seconds trying to catch their breath.

"Nice job spotting this cave," the armored figure said with a distinctly feminine voice.

"Not a problem," the boy responded, "Let's just hope those guys don't spot that opening."

The armored female merely nodded, before turning her attention to the cave. It definitely went deeper in, but how deep was the question. She didn't know much about this planet, so she didn't know if the cave would eventually have another opening, or if anything lived in such spaces. Either way, she knew they had to keep moving.

"Come on," she said to her companion, "Let's see where this tunnel leads."

"Any where's better than going back the other way," the boy responded, hefting the rifle back into his hands, checking to make sure it was loaded and ready to fire. Giving the armored figure a nod, the two began trekking silently into the depths of the cave. Though it was dark, the armored female's visor allowed her to see, while the boy's eyes were able to pick out objects, even in the near total darkness. The duo continued for a while in silence, only broken by the sounds of their footfalls.

"Do you think they'll ever catch us?" the boy suddenly asked his companion, an undertone of worry in his voice.

"Don't focus on that now," the woman said, "just try to keep moving."

"Considering what I am, I'm starting to wonder if it's worth protecting me." No sooner had those words left his mouth, then the armored woman whirled around to face him, causing him to jump slightly.

"Don't say that," she told him, "I've told you this before: regardless of what you are, you have my DNA in you. That makes you my son. Besides, you've proven that you don't want to hurt others, unless they try to hurt you first. That makes you different from your... '_creators'._" she said the last word with absolute venom in her voice.

The boy flinched slightly, "But..." he started, before the woman quieted him.

"Don't Devon," she said, "I'm going to protect you, however I can. Now come on, let's keep moving." The boy nodded, and the two continued moving deeper into the cave. After about an hour of slow travel, the duo came to a large open section of the cave. Unlike the rest of the cave so far, this section had multiple glowing crystals that illuminated the area. They also noticed that, aside from the tunnel they entered from, there were about a dozen or so more tunnels that branched out from the cave.

Both of them tensed, there was something about this cave. Some unearthly power that seemed to permeate the air. Neither of them could place the feeling they had, but whatever was causing this energy, was greatly unnerving the two.

"This place gives me the creeps..." Devon said, shivering. The woman didn't say anything, she merely glanced around the area, her arm cannon ready to fire at the slightest provocation. Although she didn't say anything, she felt just as creeped out Devon, she just didn't want to admit it and worry him more.

"Come on," she said, "Let's see where one of these lead." She started moving toward one of the openings. No sooner had she taken a couple of steps, then the whole cavern shook, the sound of a muffled explosion resonating through the area, echoing down the tunnel they just came out of.

"Damn! They must have found the opening!" Devon nearly swore, instantly forgetting his uneasiness, and getting into a fighting stance. "What do you think? Space Pirates or the Federation?" he asked his companion. The armored woman didn't answer immediately. Instead, she pointed her weapon at the mouth of the tunnel and launched a Super Missile at the opening. The missile impacted just above the opening, and the large explosion instantly caused the roof of the tunnel to cave in, dust flying everywhere. As the smoke and dust settled, the duo saw that the tunnel was efficiently blocked by a few tons of rubble.

"Whichever group it is," she told him, "It will be a while for them to get through that." Devon nodded, before turning his attention back to the other tunnels. "We need to find out which tunnel will get us out of here." he heard her say, though he wasn't really listening. Instead, he had frozen at a strange feeling he suddenly had. It was similar to the one he felt when he first entered this cavern, only much stronger. And it was getting stronger.

"Samus," he addressed his companion, "Something is coming." The woman, now known as Samus, raised her arm cannon, aiming it at each of the openings in turn.

"Where?" she asked, not taking her eyes off of the openings.

"I'm not sure..." he paused, gazing at each of the openings in turn, trying to determine where the source of this energy was coming from. His eyes, and senses, came to rest on one that was directly across from the blocked tunnel. "There..." he said pointing. The duo pointed their weapons at the opening, waiting for whatever it was to show itself.

After about a minute, both saw a figure walking out of the tunnel. Seeing the figure, caused both to pause and lower their weapons slightly, mostly because of his appearance. He was dressed in what could only be described as robes, like those that a priest would wear. Devon and Samus quickly retrained their weapons on him when they saw his face, or at least, what they could see. Most of his face was covered in the shadow of his hood, but his eyes were what made the two nervous. The 'priest's' eyes seemed to be glowing from the shadows, and it gave a very creepy feel. Both kept their weapons on the figure as he walked over toward them, unsure if he was an enemy or not.

"No need for the hostilities," the 'priest' said, in a slightly creepy voice, "I'm only here to help." Neither Samus nor Devon said anything, they merely kept their weapons trained on the stranger. The 'priest' stopped in front of the duo, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Headmaster of Yokai Academy, and I'm here to extend an invitation for your son to attend." he said to Samus.

Samus still wouldn't lower her weapon, "I've never heard of 'Yokai Academy,'" she said, "How do we know you're not lying?"

"You don't," he said, "You haven't heard of the school, because it's located in another world."

"Like another dimension?" Devon asked, his weapon lowering ever so slightly, curiosity peaked.

"Exactly," the Headmaster said, "In that world, there's no such thing as Space Pirates or your Galactic Federation. In fact, you'd almost feel as if you were thrown back in time."

Samus slowly lowered her weapon, wondering whether or not to believe him. It seemed too farfetched; a world completely different from theirs? And in another dimension? She was having a hard time believing this guy.

Devon was the same. He was wondering if this guy was being serious, or just trying to take him. At the same time, a small flicker of hope flashed in his mind. A way to get out of this life, constantly running from almost certain death, struggling to survive. It seemed too good to be true.

"I can give you some time to think about it," the Headmaster said, "Although you might want to decide soon." Samus and Devon suddenly heard the sound of scraping and pounding, coming from the blocked tunnel. In the short span of time, their pursuers had caught up.

"It has to be the Space Pirates," Samus said, "No Federation soldier could move that fast." Devon merely nodded in agreement. Samus turned to the 'priest', or Headmaster, whatever he was called, "Can you promise to keep my son safe?" she asked him.

"I can't promise," he replied, "But I can say he will be watched over."

"Samus?" Devon looked at her, confused at her question.

Taking a risk, Samus knelt down in front of Devon. In a small flash, her armor had vanished, leaving her crouching in a blue, skin-tight, full body suit; her Zero Suit. It had some strange symbols on her chest, left hand, and back. Her yellow-blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, two locks of hair framing her face. She looked Devon in the eye, her aqua-green eyes meeting his blue-green. She had to look up at him slightly, since she was slightly shorter without her armor, that was something she still didn't quite understand.

"Devon," she said, "I won't be able to come with you. If what that guy says is true, then that energy we felt, could very well be other worlds, all linked through this cave. If the Space Pirates or the Federation find this place, then they might try and figure out how to use this area to their advantage. We cannot allow that. I'm going to stay behind, try to lead them away from here, and if possible, destroy this cave."

"B-But, that means... I might not see you again." Devon started tearing up. Despite growing up on the run, fighting for most of his life, he still had a soft side, especially for the only person to show him any love or kindness.

"Devon," she said, keeping her voice steady, "You're my son, I know you'll be fine, with or without me. I don't want you to worry about me. We're going to have to take a chance and trust this guy. I don't want you to fall into the hands of our enemies. If this 'Headmaster' is right, then you'll be safer in his world. And that's all I want, is for you to be safe."

"Samus..."

"Shh." she shushed him, "You know I don't mind you calling me mom," she smiled, as she pulled Devon into a hug, trying to fight back her own tears. Devon returned the hug, tears running down his face. The two ceased their hug a few moments later, Devon wiping his tears away, quickly regaining his composure. Looking at Samus, at his mother, he gave a nod, signaling his readiness.

"I see you've made your decision," the Headmaster said, "Well then, let's go." he signaled for Devon to follow, "Any questions you have will have to wait, besides, they will all be answered in due time." Devon began following the Headmaster. The sounds of scraping and thumping was getting louder from the tunnel, a chittering noise could also be heard, confirming that it was the Space Pirates. Samus quickly reactivated her Power Suit, and readied herself for battle.

"Mom..." Devon said.

Samus glanced back at her son, despite the circumstances surrounding his 'birth,' as well as his heritage, she fully considered him her son. "Go, Devon," she said, "Live a normal life. And don't worry about me, Moms are tough." She turned her attention back to the blocked tunnel, before hearing the Headmaster speak again.

"The tunnel to you immediate right will lead you back to the surface," he said, "It's the only tunnel not connected to another realm. You were right about this place. I wish you luck." he turned back to the tunnel he came from, and began walking through it. Devon followed, sparing one more glance back at his mother, the only person who ever showed him any kindness, any affection. He was probably never going to see her again. A solitary tear rolled down his face, but he quickly wiped it away. He had to be strong, he _had _to be, for her. Turning his back on the only life he knew, he walked into the tunnel, following the Headmaster, to a new life.

* * *

**Well that's it. This was just a simple ****prologue to introduce my OC, as well as what led to him coming to the Rosario Vampire universe. I apologize if a certain bounty hunter is out of character to some people, the way I planned this story, she kind of needs to be. No one ask what Devon's past is, I plan on revealing that later on in the story. Please read and review. NO flames please, I would like only positive reviews.**


	2. New school and a New life

Devon's eyes fluttered open. He found himself starting at some sort of roof, and whatever he was laying on seemed to rumble slightly. Realizing he was just unconscious, panic slightly set, thinking that the 'Headmaster' had actually kidnapped him, and the whole 'Yokai Academy' had been a ploy. When he bolted upright into a sitting position however, he noticed that he was on a seat of sorts, inside of a strange vehicle. Looking around, he saw multiple seats like the one he currently sat on, all of which were empty. He also noticed that he was dressed differently. He was no longer in his military outfit. Instead, he was wearing what appeared to be some sort of school uniform. It consisted of a green blazer, over a white shirt with a red tie. He was wearing brown pants and black shoes. After so long in a military uniform, it felt strange. The last thing he spotted was a note, sitting on top of a good sized duffel bag, a school bag sitting next to it. He picked the note up and began reading,

_I decided to help you get a few things for school. I also took the liberty of adding a special something to all your clothes. What that something is, you will have to find out for yourself. The items in these bags are all you'll need for school. Good luck kid._

Devon could only guess that the note was from the Headmaster. 'Could he be anymore cryptic...?' He thought to himself.

"Hey sonny,"

Devon nearly jumped when he heard that voice. It was even creepier than the Headmaster's! Looking toward what he could only guess was the front of the vehicle, he spotted the source of the voice; a rather creepy looking driver, whose eyes he noticed, also seemed to glow from the depths of the shadows of his hat. 'Just like the Headmaster...' Devon thought to himself.

"You attending Yokai Academy?" the creepy driver asked.

'Yokai...?' Devon thought, before remembering the Headmaster's words, 'I guess he wasn't lying after all... but...'

"Where am I?" Devon questioned.

"You definitely seem out of it, you hit your head or something?" the driver asked. Devon looked at him, confused, and wary. "Don't look so tense kid, your on the bus to Yokai Academy."

'Bus..?' Devon once more thought to himself. Looking out the window, he noticed the rather beautiful countryside they were passing. He also noticed the cars, people on bikes, and the like. Looking up, he didn't see any of the hover vehicles that he remembered seeing at times near Galactic Federation space. It was quite surprising.

_'You'll feel as if you've gone back in time.'_ the Headmaster's words echoed in his head. He realized that this dimension, or whatever, could very well be on a different time period than what he was used too.

"You better get your head on straight soon kid," the driver said, getting Devon's attention again, "Yokai Academy can be a dangerous place."

"How could a school be dangerous?" Devon questioned. 'It _can't_ be as bad as what I've lived through.'

"You'll find out soon enough." the driver snickered as they entered a tunnel.

* * *

After a few minutes, the bus pulled to a stop outside of the tunnel.

"We're here kid," the creepy driver said, "Watch yourself."

Gathering his things, Devon got off the bus. He looked at his surroundings as the bus pulled away. He was standing in front of a sign that read "Yokai Academy" which was hung around the neck of a scarecrow. Beyond that, the ocean, if that's what it could be called, was a blood red color. Looking toward a pathway that led into a forest, a forest that was nothing but dead trees with crows sitting in them, he spotted a large building that he could only assume was the school. With little choice at the moment, he began walking toward the school.

Out of old habits, he kept his senses on high alert. Being in unfamiliar territory, he was trained to never let his guard down. 'This place feels like an old horror movie or something,' he thought to himself after a while, 'hard to believe that it's school grounds. Since when does a school look like this?' He was distracted by his thoughts, so what happened next completely caught him off guard.

"WATCH OUT!" a voice suddenly yelled before...

**CRASH!**

Devon was sent sprawling as he was hit from behind by a bike, knocking him and the rider onto the hard ground.

Devon groaned, 'Oh man. Mom would have a fit if she learned I got so easily distracted.' he thought as he got up. As he did so, his hand ended up touching something soft, and he heard a small moan. Realizing it was the rider, a girl rider he noted, he quickly pulled back saying "I'm sorry!" as he did.

He noticed that the girl was actually very pretty. She had long pink hair, beautiful emerald-green eyes, and seemingly flawless skin. He also saw that she was wearing the female version of his uniform, meaning she must be attending Yokai Academy as well. The last thing he noticed was the silver cross with and eye-like ruby at it's center, connected by a chain to a leather choker that she wore around her neck.

"I'm sorry," the girl said, "My anemia acted up again and I got dizzy."

"It's okay," he told her, "Just try to be careful next time." he didn't notice that he had a small cut on the side of his head that was bleeding.

"Oh no," the girl gasped, "You're bleeding," she pulled out a small handkerchief to wipe the blood off, before she froze. "That... smell..."

'What smell?' he wondered. The girl suddenly fell forward into his arms.

"Hey! You alright?" he asked.

"Yes, it's just..." she started

"Just what?" he asked, confused.

"I'm sorry," she said, "It's just... I'm a vampire." she leaned into his neck and bit down

CHUUU~!

"Ahhh!" he yelled in both pain and surprise. He struggled against the girl's grip for a moment, before she seemed to realize what she was doing and quickly pulled away.

"I'm sorry!" she apologized, "I couldn't help myself, your scent was too intoxicating."

"Did you just suck my blood!?" Devon asked, instantly on his guard.

"Yes," the girl replied, "I really am sorry. I would normally never do that, I just lost control." she was poking her index fingers together, looking really nervous.

He checked where she had bitten. He noticed that it wasn't bleeding, in fact, it looked completely healed. He sighed as he got up, "It's alright, I guess," he told her, "What's your name?"

"It's Moka Akashiya." she said, "What's yours?"

"It's Devon... Aran," he said, deciding to take on his mother's last name, considering she actually accepted him as her son, "Devon Aran."

"Um... do you... hate vampires?" she asked nervously, remembering his wary expression as she had pulled away.

"Honestly, you're the first vampire I've met," he said, relaxing a bit, seeing as this girl, Moka, meant no harm, blood sucking or not, "And you seem like a pretty nice person to me."

"Oh, that's a relief," she said, a smile on her face, "I thought I wouldn't meet anyone or make any friends."

'Friends?' the thought sounded strange to Devon. After so long with only Samus for company, to actually make a friend? "Well... would you, like to be friends?" he asked her.

She glomped him in a hug, "I'd love to!" she exclaimed happily.

Devon chuckled at her antics. "Come on," he said, "We don't want to be late for our first day."

"Okay." With that, the two new-found friends made their way to the school. Moka was pushing her bike, while Devon was lost in his thoughts.

'A friend; I actually made a friend,' the thought still felt odd to him, 'But what's with the whole vampire thing?' he figured he'd find out soon enough.

* * *

After the entrance ceremony, Devon sat in his homeroom class, wondering how this whole thing would go, considering he never actually attended any proper school. Sure Samus made sure he had some sort of schooling, even if it was always while worrying about being hunted down, but never had he attended a proper school. Another part of him wondered about Moka. The two of them had gotten separated during the opening ceremony, and he hadn't seen her since. He was brought out of his thoughts as the teacher began speaking.

"Welcome to Yokai Academy everyone!" the teacher exclaimed happily. She had short blonde hair, a spaghetti strap top and a short skirt. She sported a pair of cute glasses on her face and parts of her hair looked like cat ears. "I'll be your homeroom teacher this year, Shizuka Nekonome. Now, I'm sure you all know this, but... this school is for monsters to attend only." she declared.

Devon's curiosity was peaked at that, 'Monsters? What in the world is she talking about?'

Ms. Nekonome continued, "Like it or not, humans run the world. In order for us monsters to survive, we have to learn to co-exist amongst the humans. And that's the goal of this school: a peaceful existence with the human-world."

"But teacher," a muscular blonde with multiple piercings around his ears and mouth said, "Wouldn't it be better to just eat the humans? Better yet, why not eat all the men while having fun with the beautiful women?"

"Sorry but that's not possible," Ms. Nekonome said with a smile, acting like nothing was said, or not caring, "all of the student's and faculty here are monsters. Since this school is behind a magical barrier, no human has ever seen this school, well seen it and lived anyway."

'Sounds like humans aren't exactly welcome at this school,' Devon thought to himself rather calmly, his training and previous lifestyle let him handle almost anything. 'Would that mean I don't belong here? I'm not exactly human myself, but...'

The teacher continued, "And that brings us to rule number one: you aren't allowed to show your true forms, not even to your fellow students. In order to blend in to human society, we have to look and act like them. So you must remain in your human forms at all times."

'Hmm...' Devon was deep in thought, trying to figure out what to do now. Should he stay? Or not? He really didn't have anywhere to go if he did leave... so...

Just then, the classroom door opened. "I'm sorry I'm late," a familiar voice said, "I got lost in the halls after the entrance ceremony."

"That's alright," Ms. Nekonome said with a smile, "Just take a seat at any of the empty desks."

Glancing toward the doorway, Devon was mildly surprised to see that Moka was the late student. He wasn't the only one who noticed though, every guy in the classroom seemed to get into a heart-eyed trance when they saw the beautiful vampire walk in, trying to find a desk.

"That hair…"

"Those eyes…."

"That body…."

"No way that's a disguise," one of the boys drooled. "She's just too…"

"BEAUTIFUL!" the collected boys roared. Devon rolled his eyes in annoyance. 'Sheesh,' he thought, 'could these guys be any more of a jackass?' Noticing an empty desk behind him, he raised his hand to get Moka's attention. "Moka, over here," he called.

"Huh? Devon?" she looked toward who had addressed her. She broke out into a huge smile when she saw her friend. "It is you!" she cheered, leaping forward and trapping him in a tight embrace.

Devon couldn't help but smile at the way Moka greeted her first friend here. Although some were not as amused.

"Huh!? Who's that guy?!"

"Why does he get a hug?!"

"He is so dead!"

* * *

After homeroom, Moka wanted to explore the rest of the school, since the rest of the day was free. With nothing else to really do, Devon went along with her. For a while, the duo walked around the school, admiring the architecture. At least, Moka was. Devon was mostly dragged around by the overly excited girl. After they saw most of the school, the two stopped by some vending machines to get a drink. Moka got a tomato juice, while Devon chose a simple water. They were enjoying their drinks on a nearby bench, when the blonde delinquent from class came up to them. More precisely, up to Moka.

"Hey, you're Moka Akashiya right?" he asked, "The name's Saizou Komiya, remember it."

"Um... Okay..." Moka said, obviously nervous. That nervousness was only intensified when Saizou grabbed onto Devon's collar.

"So tell me," he said, "What's a pretty thing like you doing with a weakling like this?"

'Weakling, huh?' Devon thought as he grabbed onto Saizou's wrist with both his hands. Saizou glanced at Devon, just in time for Devon to land a kick right to Saizou's face. Keeping his grip on the delinquent, Devon used the momentum from his kick to twist Saizou's wrist, and throw him into a nearby pillar. Devon stood up, dusting his jacket off.

Moka grabbed Devon's arm, "Sorry, I'm having fun with Devon right now." she said, as she pulled her friend away.

Saizou got up, spitting out some blood as he did. Just what in the world was that kid? No one had ever kicked him like that, and got away with it. With a low growl, he vowed that he would show the runt who's boss, and make Moka his.

Moka and Devon eventually stopped to catch their breath near the path that led to the dorms. Moka then looked toward her friend, who wasn't the slightest bit winded. "How are you not tired?" she asked.

"Just used to running," he told her, "I'd run for miles sometimes. So I just got the stamina for it."

After catching her breath, Moka asked another question, "Did previous schools influence that?"

"I was actually home-schooled most of my life," he told her, "My mother just made sure I was physically trained."

"Why would she do that?" she asked him.

"Well," he started, wondering how to put this, "my mother was in the military. I guess she just wanted to make sure her son could handle anything."

"What about your dad?" she asked.

A look of pure rage flashed across Devon's face. Just as quickly as it appeared, his expression returned to normal. Had Moka not been looking right at him, she would have missed it. "I... never knew him," he said. She waited for him to elaborate. When he didn't, she didn't ask any further, seeing he didn't want to talk about it.

"Did you have any other friends?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

Devon shook his head, "No." he said, "I was never able to make any other friends."

"Why's that?"

"Let's just say my mom moved us around a lot." he told her, "We were never in the same area for more than a couple of weeks, hence why I was home-schooled."

"Why did you have to move around so much?"

Devon was quiet for a second. "Come on," he said, "Let's check out the dorms." He walked away before she asked more questions. Moka ran to catch up. She didn't ask her question again, seeing it was something he didn't want to elaborate on. Instead, Devon asked her a question.

"What about you Moka?" he asked, "What did you do before coming to Yokai?"

Moka's expression turned a little solemn. "I... went to school in the human world..."

"Really?"

"I hate humans..." she suddenly said, "I hate them! They always said that monsters don't exist, only in stories. They made me feel like such a freak! I started thinking that it would be better if I didn't exist..."

Devon was shocked at her outburst. At the same time, he sympathized with her. His entire life had been on the run, with the knowledge that he was different, _way_ different, than any one else. Those who found out, usually shunned, or feared him; except for Samus.

"Wow..." he said, "That does sound bad. But you can't just hate a whole race because of a few assholes."

"What?" she looked at him, confused.

"I know how you feel Moka," he told her, "My whole life, I've been treated like an outcast, just for being different. But I don't hold anything against humans."

"Why?"

"Because... my mother's human." he told her.

Moka was shocked at this bit of news, "B-But then... you're..."

"Only part human," he said, seeing she suddenly looked frightened, "My mother knows I'm different, but she doesn't care. I have her DNA in my body, so she says that makes me her son. She was the only one to show me any kindness, even when others treated me different. I'm proud to call her my mother."

Moka's expression had changed from one to shock, to one of awe. His mother, a human, didn't care that he was different, that he wasn't fully human, she loved him just the same.

"I guess what I'm saying is: not all humans are the same." he said, "My mother may have been the only human to ever care for me. But through her, I learned that not every human is the same. There's bound to be some people out there who are actually very nice, regardless of race."

"I guess you're right," Moka said, after thinking about his words, "But I'm still so angry at what I went through."

"Don't let anger cloud your judgment," he told her, "Just know that not everyone is the same, be it human or Yokai."

"Right," she said, "I'll try to keep an open mind... And I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For saying I hate humans," she said, "I mean, you're mother's human, so..."

"Don't worry about it Moka," he said with a smile, "I'm sure my mom would understand, considering your past. I know that she would do what she could to help you get over your anger, so I'll do the same."

"Thank you, Devon." she said, returning his smile.

"No problem," he said, before something else came to mind, "Actually, the subject of not everyone being the same, I've got another question. You say you're a vampire Moka. And yet, blood drinking aside, you seem to look and act pretty human yourself. Is there a reason for that, if you don't mind me asking?"

"No I don't mind," she said, gesturing to the cross she wore around her neck, "It's because of this rosary."

"It looks like an ordinary piece of jewelry to me." he said.

"It may look like that," she told him, "but if this rosary is removed, I would change, I'd become my true form, a powerful and terrifying vampire."

"Really?"

"Mm-hm. A rosary acts as a seal for demonic powers. I don't like causing trouble, so I'm happy to where this and keep my powers in check."

"Huh." Devon was processing this new information about his friend, until he noticed her get close to him.

"Of course, even when sealed, a girl still needs blood."

"Wha...?"

"Gotcha!" Moka said as she bit into him again.

"Hey!" he yelped, more in surprise than pain. After a moment, she let go, a blush on her face.

"Sorry about that," she said with a small bow, "Your scent was just too appetizing."

"It's alright Moka," he said, rubbing his neck where she had bitten, "I think. I'm going to go put my stuff away, I guess I'll see you later."

"Okay," she said, "Bye!"

With that, Devon walked toward the dorm, looking for his room. He eventually found it on the 3rd floor. Unlocking his door, he walked in to find a relatively simple room: single bed, dresser, desk, kind of something to expect in a dorm. Setting his stuff down, he went over and opened his window, noticing it overlooked most of the forest. As he gazed out, his mind wandered to his mom. He wondered if she was alright, before he inwardly laughed at himself for that thought. Of course she was alright! She was Samus Aran, intergalactic bounty hunter, and the strongest person he knew, nothing was going to beat her.

Devon was suddenly brought out of his musings by a scream. It sounded as if it came from somewhere in the forest, and it was a scream he recognized.

'Moka!' Without another thought, Devon leaped out of the window, not caring that he was three floors above ground. He landed in a crouching position, completely unharmed. The only real damage, was a small impact crater from his landing. Standing up, he looked around for a second, before running off in the general direction that he heard the scream. As he ran, his body began changing, shifting you could say.

'I normally don't use this form,' he thought as he transformed, 'but considering where I am, and what I might be dealing with, I might have a better shot if I use it.' As he changed, he notice his clothes shift with him, becoming part of his body, 'must be that 'something' that the Headmaster mentioned in the note, at least I don't have to worry about buying new clothes.' Fully transformed, Devon returned his focus to the task at hand, and continued his hunt for his friend. 'Hang on Moka, I'm on my way.'

* * *

_A few minutes earlier, after Devon had gone into his dorm._

Moka decided to explore the forest surrounding the school for a bit before heading to her dorm. As she was walking, a multitude of thoughts were going through her head. The most prevalent being that she had made a friend. 'After so long, I finally have a friend.' she thought happily, 'Even though he's human; well, part human, he doesn't care that I'm a vampire.'

She was brought out of her happy thoughts when her arm was grabbed. Looking at who had grabbed her, she became frightened. It was Saizou.

"Hey babe," he said, "Remember me?"

"S-Saizou!" Her fear intensified when Saizou threw her deeper into the forest. After throwing her, Saizou began changing, he became larger, stronger, and uglier as he revealed his true form. Saizou was an orc, a brutish creature that used their strength to get whatever they wanted.

"I can never control myself when I get riled up." he laughed, "Now let's have some fun!" Lashing his tongue like a whip, he snared Moka by her leg, before throwing her into a tree. She screamed loudly while she was in the air. But that scream was cut-off when she slammed into the tree, the wind knocked out of her. She slumped to the ground, struggling to catch her breath. 'Devon,' she thought desperately, 'Help me.'

The orc chuckled as he moved in, until he was suddenly tackled from the side by... something. Whatever it was, it was slightly shorter than Saizou, but was, overall, larger than the orc. It seemed to resemble a lizard, being quadrupedal, with muscular legs, and sharp talons on it's feet. It's body was covered in purple scales, with a few parts on it's 'arms' being blue-green. It's head was relatively long and narrow, and had some resemblance to a crocodile. The top of the creature's head, as well as it's entire back, was covered in what appeared to be white feathers, with what appeared to be some sort of protrusions on it's shoulders. The creature's eyes were an orange color, and had a look of a fierce intelligence, showing this was no feral beast, but a thinking creature. It's mouth, from which a rather large tongue lolled out of, was lined with razor sharp teeth. It's tail was very long, almost twice as long as it's body, and segmented. A large blade-like arrowhead protruded from it's tip. Glaring at the orc, the lizard gave off a loud screech.

"W-What the?" Saizou stuttered, shocked at the sudden appearance of this thing. Before he could do anything else, the creature pounced on him, knocking him to the ground. Snapping out of his stupor, the orc struggled with the beast for a minute, before managing to get a grip on the thing and throw it to the side. He glanced at his chest, a few shallow, yet painful, scratches evident. That thing's claws were sharper than they looked. His head snapped back up at another howl. The lizard had gotten back up, and was charging at the orc.

Growling, Saizou swung his fist, hoping to hit the creature as it ran at him. The unknown beast seemed to sense his intent, and leaped over his fist, landing on the orc's upper torso, once more knocking him to the ground. Before Saizou could throw the thing off, the lizard whipped it's tail around, and stabbed the orc in his lower leg, the blade on the tail easily piercing the orc's flesh. Saizou howled in pain, before punching the creature on the underside of it's jaw. The lizard was knocked off of him and onto it's back a few yards away. Shaking it's head, it quickly got back on it's feet.

Saizou tried to do the same, but the injury to his leg caused him to fall over. Seeing that it's enemy was incapacitated for the moment, the lizard turned it's gaze on Moka, who had been watching the fight this whole time. The frightened girl shivered under the creature's gaze, sensing the intelligence this thing had. Before she could do anything, the beast lashed it's tail around her torso, and lifted her into the air. Casting another glance at the downed orc, the beast started running, or more like bounding, away from the area, Moka still held in the coils of it's tail.

Moka was panicking, first the orc and now this lizard thing? What on Earth was it going to do with her? Frightened for her life, Moka did the only thing she could think of at the moment to try and get the thing to let go, she bit down as hard as she could on the creature's tail. The beast yelped, and stumbled slightly, but quickly regained it's footing, and kept running. Moka however, paused in surprise. When she had bit down, her fangs managed to pierce the thing's tail, and a small amount of blood had welled. She had paused, because she had ended up tasting the creature's blood, and it was so familiar to her. She had tasted this blood before, not more than a few minutes ago. This lizard's blood, tasted _exactly_ like Devon's. But that was impossible, unless...

The creature eventually came to a stop in a clearing. Looking around, the creature gave a small huff, seeing no enemies, or anyone, nearby. Turning, it ever so gently put Moka on the ground. Looking at the creature with hope in her eyes, Moka stuttered, "D-D-Devon?"

The creature merely nodded, before it began to shrink and change shape. Within seconds, the creature was gone, and standing in it's place, was Devon. "Sorry if I frightened you Moka, I..." he started to say, before he was nearly knocked to the ground in a hug by Moka, who was now sobbing heavily. "M-Moka?"

"Thank you," she said between tears, "Thank you."

Knowing what she was talking about, he merely returned her hug, not saying anything. After a minute, Moka managed to compose herself, and backed away, looking at her friend, "What was that?" she asked him, "That form I mean?"

Before he could explain himself however, another voice spoke up.

"There you are," Saizou said as he made his way into the clearing. He was limping badly, the wound in his calf still bleeding heavily. "Hmph, that weakling huh? I owe you for that kick earlier." Devon moved to put himself between Moka and the orc. The brute looked around, "Where'd that overgrown lizard go?" He then snickered, "Oh well, guess I'll show that thing who's tougher later. You know, I was just going to have some fun before I killed you Akashiya," his grin turned to a sneer, "But now I'm just going to kill you and your friend."

"Moka, you need to get out of here," Devon said, motioning for his friend to leave.

"No, I won't leave you," she told him, "I don't want you to get hurt!"

"I don't want any objections, now GO!" he ordered, trying to push her away, as the orc charged. As he pushed her however, his fingers ended up snagging on her rosary, and it came off with a metallic *clink*. 'Uh-oh.' Devon thought, noticing what he did.

"The rosary..." Moka gasped, before a brilliant glow engulfed her. Day turned to night as the glow spread. Both Devon and Saizou could only watch as Moka's form changed. Her hair became a brilliant silver, her body became more voluptuous, her fangs became more prominent. As the glow faded, they noticed that her eyes had become blood-red in color, with slitted pupils.

'Wow, Moka wasn't kidding when she said she'd be scary when the rosary was severed.' Devon thought, in awe of the power he was feeling from the transformed vampire.

Saizou, on the other hand, was shaking almost uncontrollably. "The legends," he said, "they're true! Silver hair, red eyes, and an overwhelming energy! She's an S-class super monster, a real vampire!"

Brushing a lock of her hair aside, Moka looked at Saizou and said, "So, I suppose you're the reason I was awakened?" Her voice had also changed. Instead of sounding sweet and innocent, her voice now held power, sounding dominant and mature. Saizou shuddered, feeling her crushing aura.

Sensing his hesitation, Moka then spoke mockingly while beckoning the orc with a finger, "What's the matter rouge one, you wanted me didn't you? Well come and get me." Saizou, forgetting his fear and becoming angry at the vampire's tone, growled and charged at Moka.

"Vampire or not, you will be mine Moka Akashiya!" Saizou roared, swiping his claw at Moka. With a smug grin, Moka easily caught the orc's attack and stopped him in his tracks. "What?" Saizou gasped in utter shock.

"Pathetic," Moka said, "trash such as yourself has nothing to show except for his size. You have no right challenging one such as me." Pulling her leg back, Moka delivered a bone-crushing kick to Saizou's midsection, launching him back through multiple trees and rocks, sending him a fair distance away, and leaving a crater where he impacted.

"Know your place," she stated.

'Holy crap...' Devon thought, 'she's far stronger than anything I've ever encountered,' he snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Moka walking up to him. Although he knew that this was his friend, a part of him was practically screaming to get out of here. He ignored it as she came up to him.

"I believe you have something of mine," she told him. Devon looked at her for a second, before remembering the rosary, which was still clutched in his hand. Holding it out to her, she snatched it from his hand, before looking at him. He flinched slightly at her gaze.

"Are you afraid of me? Of this me?" she asked. Devon merely returned her gaze, his caution levels through the roof. "Don't worry Devon, I will not harm you."

"Are you really Moka?" he asked, seeing how different she was acting.

"Yes, or at least I'm her true inner self." she told him. "And like I said, I won't harm you, because you're blood tastes too good to me. Even when the _real_ me is asleep."

'Real her?' he thought, 'Does she have split-personalities?'

"Until we meet again, you just keep babysitting the other me, 'kay?" with that, she reattached the rosary to it's chain. Her power leeched away, and her features reverted to her pink-haired self. She fell forward, unconscious, into Devon's arms.

'I can definitely tell this will be an interesting school year,' he thought, 'and an interesting life.'

* * *

Moka's eyes fluttered open. She found herself laying on the ground, still in the clearing where Devon had taken her. Looking around, she saw that she was laying on Devon's lap.

"So," he said to her, "Finally awake huh?"

"Devon..." She slowly got up. "I'm guessing you saw the other me?"

Devon nodded, "And I"m guessing you're still wondering about me, what I turned into." Moka nodded.

Knowing she wouldn't take no for an answer, he merely sighed, "Just so you know, it's a long story, and I'm not sure you'd believe it."

"Try me."

"Very well," he said, "First thing you should know is, I'm not from this world. I come from another dimension, one that is far more technologically advanced compared to this one. Space travel is common, and alien races exist alongside humans, although most are not benevolent. A large group, known as the Space Pirates, openly attack and loot anything related to the Galactic Federation. The Galactic Federation is the sovereign government of my realm, and they maintain peace amongst the different colonies. The Space Pirates try to do anything they can to instill chaos, as well as eventually rule the galaxy. This is where my mother and I come in."

"What do you mean?" she asked, curiosity peaked.

"My mother, whose full name is Samus Aran, is an intergalactic bounty hunter, and the best at what she does. She was normally called upon to fight the threat of the space pirates. She was actually raised from a very young age to fight. Her parents, and her home-world, were destroyed by the space pirates, led by their general, Ridley."

"Ridley?"

"Ridley is an unknown species. All that is known is that he resembles a skeletal dragon, some have called him a 'space dragon.' He's utterly ruthless. He cares nothing for others, only in wanting to conquer any human colony. He also sadistic, and delights in torturing others, like he did with my mother. She was very young when the Pirates invaded her home. She was forced to watch, as Ridley killed her parents, and those she knew, right in front of her. He ended up leaving her alive, thinking she wouldn't be a threat. Boy was he wrong."

"What happened?"

"She was adopted by a race known as the Chozo, a bird-like species, even more highly advanced than the Federation. They trained her, gave her the tools to fight, and when the time came, she eradicated the Space Pirates, even killing Ridley. Or so we thought." Moka waited for him to continue, "Turns out that the Space Pirates were trying to find a way to bring their mighty general back, even going into genetic cloning. Though they were dispersed after Samus destroyed their base world, they continued operating, trying to find a way to revive their leader, while at the same time making him stronger, so that the Hunter, as they called her, wouldn't be able to kill him."

"Did they succeed?" she asked.

Devon was silent for a moment, "Partially," he told her, "Their first attempt was cloning Ridley, using genetic remnants they had of him. They tried to make it stronger, by splicing his genes with another... my mother's."

"Your... mother's?"

"They had some of her DNA, no one knows how they got it, but they did."

"Her DNA..." she looked at him, "Are you trying to say that...?"

He nodded, "I was their success, and their failure."

"What are you talking about?"

"There's rumors that it's possible for memories to be held in DNA. As such, the Pirates were hoping that Ridley's thoughts, memories, and personality would transfer into the new clone. They got the second part right. When I was 'born,' I had some of Ridley's memories, but none of his ruthlessness, thoughts, or urges. Seeing this, the Pirates tried experimenting on me, trying to find out what happened. It was during one of those experiments that I managed to escape. It was then that I ran into her..."

"Samus."

"Yep. Turns out she had infiltrated their lab, after learning of their intentions. Upon finding me, I could tell she was ready to kill me."

Moka was shocked at that, "Why would she do that?"

"Because the Pirates weren't the first to create a Ridley clone. A rouge section of the Federation managed to create one, and it nearly managed to kill her. Seeing me, she prepared to blast me right then and there, but something made her pause. She later told me, that it was because of the look I had in my eyes. She said, they looked human, like a frightened human. I didn't have the predatory look that the first clone had, I looked scared, which I was. She also said, it was because the look in my eyes resembled her. Eventually, she took me to her ship, and completed her mission, destroying the base, and the records of the experiments. Afterward, she kept me safe, studying me. Trying to find out just _why_ I seemed different. I eventually grew into the lizard you saw me transform into. It was then that I found I could change into a human form."

"How did you manage that?"

"Neither Samus nor I know. She guessed that, maybe it was because of the human DNA I possessed, maybe it influenced it. Or it was something the Pirates did to me, we honestly don't know. However, even with a human form, the Federation eventually learned of my existence, and what I was. They wanted me destroyed, but by that time, Samus was already treating me like her son; she couldn't do it, she couldn't bring herself to kill me. So she ended up protecting me, and became public enemy number one to the Federation, for harboring a Space Pirate."

"But you weren't one."

Devon shook his head, "And I never will consider myself one. But the Federation didn't care, they just wanted me, a clone of one of their greatest enemies, gone. The Pirates eventually started hunting us too, wanting to capture me. For more experiments or what, I don't know. It went on like that for ten years, until recently."

"What happened?"

"We found this strange cave, on some unknown planet that we were taking refuge on, and were approached by the headmaster of this school. He offered me a chance to get away from all the running, and live a normal life. I obviously took it."

"What happened to your mother?"

He looked sad for a moment, "She stayed behind. Turns out that the cave was a network of connections to other realms, other dimensions. We couldn't let the Pirates or the Federation learn of it. So Samus stayed behind to destroy it, ensure that the Pirates wouldn't follow me. The rest you should know, I came to this school, met you, and ended up in a fight."

Seeing his tale was finished, Moka was silent for a moment, "Wow..." she eventually said, "You really have been through a lot."

Devon nodded, "I hope learning about me doesn't change anything between us Moka."

"Of course not!" she told him, "You're my friend! Nothing will ever change that."

"That's good. I'd hate to lose the only friend I've ever made." he said. He then got up and helped Moka to her feet. "Come on, let's get back to our dorms, it's getting late."

Moka nodded, and the two friends began the walk back to the dorms.

* * *

**Well, there's chapter one! Were any of you expecting what I made Devon's ability? It's an idea I've had for awhile, just didn't know how to write it. Well, now I do and here's the result. Please keep all reviews positive and helpful please! For those who could probably guess what will happen to Devon in the future, please NO spoilers.**


	3. Succubus and an Old Threat

It had been about a week since the incident with Saizou, Devon was walking down the path from the dorms, listening in to the different conversations the students were having. Many were about certain rumors flying around. The most prevalent was about who had defeated the infamous orc. The rumor was that Devon was the one who had defeated the orc, but he knew the truth. He just didn't do anything about it.

'No one would believe it was Moka anyway,' he thought to himself. Another rumor floating around was one surrounding a mysterious howl that had been heard the day of Saizou's defeat. No one knew what creature could make such a cry. 'Guess I was a little loud that day.' Devon thought. No one thought however, that the howl was connected to Saizou's defeat. Shaking his head, he continued walking down the path, until a commotion behind him caught his attention.

"Oh! It's that new freshman!" he heard one student exclaim.

"She's so dazzling!"

Looking behind him, he saw Moka walking down the path, seeming like she didn't notice the heart-eyed stares she was receiving from the other students. She did however, notice Devon.

"Good morning, Devon!" she exclaimed, running over and trapping her friend in a hug.

"Good morning to you, Moka," Devon said with a small smile, surprised she would hug him in public like this without embarrassment. Not everyone was as amused however.

"Whaaa! There's a guy with Moka?!"

"What's his relationship with her?!"

"He is so dead!"

Devon simply ignored the threats made. Unless they actually tried anything, he wasn't going to waste any effort on these guys. With a silent nod to his friend, the two of them began walking to school. Not noticing that they were being watched by someone from behind a tree, an angry look on their face. "Hmph..." was all that person said.

"Devon," Moka said as they were walking, "I just want to thank you again for saving me from Saizou."

"No problem Moka," he told her, "You're my friend right? I'd help you out anytime you need it. _I'm_ just sorry that I spooked you."

"Well, you _were_ kind of scary..." Moka quickly started waving her hands, "B-But it's nothing, I'm just glad you helped me."

"Well again, I'm sorry," he said, "I think the biggest problem is that I can't speak in that form. Not sure why though."

"Well, let's not dwell on that," she said, "Come on let's get to class." The duo walked a few steps, before Moka came to a halt.

"What is it Moka?" Devon asked her.

"Well, I didn't have breakfast so... I'm kind of hungry." she said looking at her friend. Before he could say anything, she quickly leaned in and bit into his neck.

"Hey!" Devon yelped in surprise. Though her bite didn't actually hurt, he'd grown accustomed to the pain over the last few days, he was still caught off guard by her actions. After a few seconds, she let go, a look of contentment on her face.

"I'm sorry," she said, "It's just you smelled so good, and I hadn't eaten so..."

"Moka," he said, "I know you're a vampire, and you need blood and all. But could you please _ask_ before you turn my neck into a juice box?"

Moka blushed in embarrassment, "Of course, it's just your blood tastes sooo good. I think I might get addicted to you!"

"I don't know whether or not to be worried about that..." Devon muttered under his breath.

"Hm? Did you say something?" she asked.

"No." he quickly replied, "I'll see you in homeroom Moka."

"Where are you going?"

"Just for a quick walk," he told her, giving her a small wave as he walked off the path, "Don't worry, I won't be late."

"Okay, see you!" Moka said, returning his wave. Although, she had a feeling in her gut, like something bad was coming.

* * *

As he was walking, Devon started thinking to himself, 'I'm starting to wonder if she just hangs out with me because she wants my blood.' He eventually found himself near a pond, with several benches along its' shores. 'Well, she _is_ a vampire, and they _do_ need blood to survive. So who could blame her?'

As he glanced around, lost in his thoughts, he spotted something. Something... odd. Walking over, he discovered a trail of footprints. The avian-like tracks led away from the pond, into the forest. They seemed to disappear as they entered the thicket. He was going to brush it off as another student who couldn't hold their human form, considering the tracks were far larger than any normal bird track, until he noticed something else. There appeared to be some sort of liquid amongst the tracks. Bending down to get a closer look, he also got a whiff of... blood, but it wasn't just blood. Some sort of coolant or oil smell was mixed in. Something in his head clicked, and he instantly bolted upright, caution rising. 'How...?' was all he thought.

Before he could contemplate what he found any further, he heard a small moan. Looking in the direction of the sound, he noticed a cyan-haired girl on the ground. She looked as if she had fallen over or something.

He quickly forgot about the tracks and ran over toward the girl. "Are you alright?" he asked her, offering her his hand to help her up.

"I'm... not sure," she said as she got up with Devon's help. He noticed that she was wearing a variant of the girl's uniform. She was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt with a red bow-tie, a pale yellow vest, and a green skirt. He also noticed that she had vibrant, violet-colored eyes. 'Whoa...' he thought, especially when he saw her... rather impressive chest. A small blush flashed across his face, but he fought it down. Shaking his head, he concentrated on helping the girl.

"Come on," he told her, "Let's get you to the infirmary, make sure you're okay." He started walking toward the school, helping the girl along the way, the tracks pushed to the back of his mind. After a few steps however, the girl stopped. "You alright?" he asked her a second time.

"M-My chest..." she moaned, "It just started hurting all of a sudden."

"You... your...?" he started to say, before the girl pressed her chest up against him, completely catching him off guard.

"My chest feels like it could burst any moment!" she exclaimed while pressing against him even harder. He tried to back away, but she grabbed onto his arms, preventing him from doing so.

"Hey... Um... uh..." he stammered, clearly uncomfortable. "Come on," he said, trying to focus on the task at hand: helping the girl, "Let's keep moving to the infirmary."

"Okay," she said, still holding onto his arm, "My name is Kurumu Kurono by the way. What's yours?"

"Devon Aran," he told her, trying to control his nervousness.

"Could you do a favor for me Devon?" she asked sweetly.

"W-What?" he asked, still uncomfortable.

"Could you please look me in the eye?" she asked, blushing slightly, "Be a good friend to me."

The moment Devon made eye contact, his mind began to feel fuzzy, like he couldn't think straight. Instead, thoughts of how beautiful Kurumu was, how pretty her eyes were, started going through his head.

'What in the world is wrong with me?' he thought, noticing his body seemed to move on its own, moving to hug Kurumu. 'What the...?' he concentrated on controlling his body, and to his relief, he managed to back away from the girl, much to Kurumu's annoyance.

"Devon?" a familiar voice called. Kurumu and Devon turned to see Moka walking into the clearing. Confusion was evident on her face as she looked at the two, wondering what was going on between them.

"Moka," Devon said, her voice had somehow snapped him out of whatever trance he was in. Before he could say anything however, a faint sound reached his ears. It sounded like some sort of screech... a chittering one. He quickly looked in the direction the sound came from, but after a few seconds of not hearing anything else, he returned his attention to Moka, who had walked up to him.

"Devon!" she said, looking concerned. She had noticed his sudden reaction to... whatever it was that caused it. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah... I'm fine." he told her. 'I hope I'm just hearing things,' he thought, '_Those_ things are the last beings I ever want to see. _Especially_ here.' He was brought out of his thoughts by Moka speaking up.

"Devon, who was that girl with you?" she asked him.

"Her name is Kurumu, and..." he turned around, but the cyan-haired girl had disappeared.

Both wondered where the girl had run off too. Shaking his head, still wondering what happened a minute ago, he looked over to Moka. "Come on, let's get to class." The duo then began walking to class, not noticing a certain bluenette watching them from behind a tree.

'Damn you, Moka!'

* * *

**After class**

Moka was standing in the hallway, lost in her own thoughts. She kept thinking about Devon and that girl, Kurumu. What was going on between them? They looked like a couple, what with how close they seemed to be.

"_This is no time to be deep in thought."_ she suddenly heard a voice say, _"You're being targeted."_

"Huh?" she said, looking around, confused, "Who said that? Who...?"

"You're a vampire right?" she heard another voice say, "At least that's the rumor going around."

Moka looked up to see Kurumu sitting on the railing of the stairs, a smug smile on her face.

"You...!" Moka exclaimed, "You were the one with Devon earlier. What...?" Kurumu then jumped off the railing and landed gracefully, completely unaware, or not caring, of the inappropriate comments being made by the students (at least, the male ones) in the hall.

"Whoa! Did you see that?!"

"Who is she?"

"She's so petite... except for her... her..."

"Incredible! She's just as cute as Moka!"

Still ignoring them, Kurumu walked up to Moka, "My name is Kurumu Kurono," she proclaimed, "And I've come here to challenge you Moka Akashiya! Challenge and defeat you that is."

"M-Me?" she asked, shocked, "B-But why?"

"You're in the way of my brilliant plan, _that's_ why!" she yelled in frustration, "And I'm sick and tired of it!"

"Pl...Plan?" Moka stuttered, very confused at the girl's words.

"My master plan to make all of the male student body at Yokai into my personal slaves." she declared, "The Yokai Academy male harem!" She struck a pose as she said this, making many of the boys in the hall get all heart-eyed at her.

Moka and some of the other boys thought that Kurumu was just plain crazy.

"It was a perfect plan!" she continued, "Until you showed up that is! Now all the guys are dreaming about you instead of me. I won't stand for it, I won't lose to you in a battle of feminine charm!"

Moka was shocked, as she began to understand what Kurumu was talking about... mostly.

Meanwhile, the crowd surrounding them were muttering amongst themselves.

"Hey, think they'll fight?"

"I sure hope so."

"And that's why I'm going to prove I'm better than you," Kurumu declared, "By stealing Devon from you!"

Moka gasped. She was targeting Devon!?

"Leave Devon out of this!" she cried, "He's got nothing to do with this!"

Smirking at the reaction she got, Kurumu continued, "I knew it the moment we were close earlier," she said, "He has a really nice scent, almost like a _human!_"

Moka was shocked at Kurumu's words, considering that Devon _is_ human, partially anyway.

"His blood must be delicious," she said mockingly, "I bet you're just using him as 'food.' Despicable. When I take him from you, good luck finding another food source."

Moka shook her head, shocked that Kurumu would say such things, "No... I'm not using him, he's..."

"Moka?"

Everyone, including Moka and Kurumu, turned toward the owner of the voice, Devon, who was walking toward the pinkette. Almost every other student started thinking the same thing: 'This isn't going to end well...'

"Is everything alright?" he asked, seeing the situation before him.

"It's Devon!" Kurumu squealed in delight, running over, and embracing the bewildered teen.

"Hey! Kurumu...!" he stammered, trying to pry the girl off.

"Devon, you need to get away from that girl!" Moka exclaimed, gaining Devon's attention. "She's not really your friend!"

"How could she say that!?" Kurumu said sadly, "Ohh... I'm starting to get dizzy again." She leaned up against Devon, eyes shut.

Starting to get annoyed with this girl, he was about to push her off of him, when she looked up into his eyes. "Charm!" she chanted.

Devon began to feel lightheaded again, just like earlier. 'No...' he thought, trying to resist. But Kurumu placed more power into her spell, ensuring that it wouldn't be so easily broken.

Moka looked worriedly at Devon, 'Why is he not backing away from her?' she wondered, completely oblivious to what Kurumu had done. "Devon... you have to believe me," she begged, "That girl is dangerous, you're not safe with her."

"And I suppose being with you is any better," he said, still hypnotized, "You just want me for my blood anyway."

"No... I..." Moka began, tears starting to well up in her eyes. What he said had hurt her on so many levels.

"...I..." Moka started to cry. Seeing her like that almost snapped Devon from his trance. Almost, but unfortunately didn't.

"Uwaaaa!" Moka ran off crying. Kurumu smiled victoriously.

'Moka!' Devon screamed in his head. 'Why in the world did I say those things to her...?' he wondered, not seeing Kurumu's little victory smile.

* * *

**School Infirmary**

Devon was sitting in a chair, a depressed expression on his face. Kurumu on the other hand, was kneeling on one of the beds.

'I actually made her cry!' she thought in absolute glee, pumping her fists in the air in victory, 'Yahoo! Her face was priceless!' What appeared to be a devil's tail was wagging behind her, as she cried tears of joy.

Meanwhile, Devon was lost in his thoughts. 'Why on Earth did I say those things to Moka?' He knew he didn't really mean it. Sure she drank his blood, but he knew it was her nature, so he didn't blame her. Hell, if she asked, he wouldn't have minded letting her drink. He gave a sigh, he needed to find and apologize to her. Before he could get up though, Kurumu came up to him.

"You're sad aren't you Devon?" she asked, sounding concerned, but Devon had a feeling she wasn't. "Don't worry," she said, pulling him into a hug, his face being smothered by her bosom, "I'll make you feel all better."

* * *

Moka was sitting on the steps at the school entrance, still crying at what Devon had said to her.

"What am I to Devon?" she wondered while sniffling, "Do I really just want his blood? I..."

"_Naive one,"_ Moka suddenly heard the voice from earlier, this time emanating from her rosary, _"Devon is just being manipulated."_

"Wha...?" Moka asked, looking down at her rosary. The center ruby appeared to be glowing, a slit down the middle, like it was looking at her.

"_It's called 'Charm.' It's a spell that turns the opposite sex into one's slave." _the voice continued.

"What are...? Who...?" Moka stammered, still confused, "A voice? From the rosary?"

"_I am the other you."_ the voice, now identified as Inner Moka, said, _"I am merely using the rosary as a medium to talk to you."_

"Another me...?" Moka gasped, in both shock and awe.

"_That Kurumu is a Succubus, a monster that seduces males."_ Inner Moka continued, _"Those that receive a kiss from a Succubus while they are under their spell become her slaves for all eternity."_

"Devon!" Moka gasped, knowing where her inner self was going with this.

"_You'd best hurry, before it's too late,"_ her inner self said.

"W-Wait! Where do I...?" Moka tried to ask, but the rosary had stopped glowing, her inner self no longer speaking.

'Devon...' she thought worriedly, quickly running off to try and find him.

* * *

Devon was currently being half-smothered by Kurumu, who continued to hug him, saying for him to "Forget about Moka," and "I'll make you feel better." Hearing her say those words, made something in him snap. Not 'get all bent out of shape angry' snap, more like 'snapping out of her spell' snap. He quickly tried to pry himself out of her grip.

Feeling him struggle, Kurumu tried to look him in the eye again. But he managed to back away from her, keeping his eyes averted.

"Enough!" he almost yelled, "What did you do to me?"

"How did you...?" she was surprised that he managed to break free of her Charm.

"The fact that I would _never_ say those things to Moka," he told her, not realizing she was referring to her Charm, "It was only when I ran into _you_ that I said those things. Doesn't take much to put two and two together."

Kurumu wasn't listening, 'Even though I made it so he shouldn't resist...' she thought angrily. "Why?" she asked, "Is she really so much better than me?!"

Devon seemed confused at her words. "And I did everything I could for you!" She yelled at him, something tearing its way out of her back, "Even though some of it was embarrassing!" It was then Devon realized that he wouldn't be able to calm her down.

'Damn it! Can't I have a normal day?!' He thought, as Kurumu grew a pair of bat-like wings, and a spade-tipped tail grew out from under her skirt. Her nails lengthened, becoming razor-sharp.

"Now I'm pissed!" she yelled, preparing to charge at him, "I'm going to destroy anyone that has anything to do with Moka! Starting with you!"

Before either of them could do anything however, "Stop!" a voice yelled. Devon and Kurumu turned to see Moka in the doorway. She then charged at Kurumu, "Leave him alone!" she yelled as she shoved Kurumu, sending her flying out the infirmary window.

"Kyaa!" Kurumu screamed as she was sent through the window.

"Devon! Get out of here before she recovers!" Moka told him.

"Wait! What's going on here?!" Devon asked, confused.

"I'm sorry you had to get involved," she apologized, "That girl is a Succubus, a monster that seduces males. It seems she wants revenge against me, so she's targeted you."

"Succubus?" Devon questioned. Moka quickly explained what a succubus was, as well as what they can do. Devon listened and came to an understanding, "So that's why I said those things to you. I knew something was off about her."

Before anything else could be said, Kurumu had recovered from Moka's surprise attack and flew by the window, lashing her tail around Devon's neck as she then tried to fly off with him.

"Devon!" Moka yelled, jumping and grabbing onto his legs, which resulted in both of them being pulled out the window and into the air.

'Damn,' Kurumu thought, struggling with the combined weight of the other two. 'I can't stay airborne for long with both of them...' After a moment of strained flight, Kurumu suddenly let go of Devon's neck, which resulted in him and Moka crashing to the ground below.

Both groaned as they got up, Devon a little slower due to having Moka land on top of him. Though it was a short flight, Devon noticed as he got to his feet that they were several hundred feet from the school.

'Damn, she's fast...' he thought, 'This isn't going to be easy.' Casting a quick glance around, he spotted Kurumu in the skies above him and Moka. She was flying straight at them, claws ready to cleave them to pieces. His training kicking in, Devon grabbed Moka and quickly leaped to the side, dodging Kurumu's attack, barely. A few of the nearby trees were cut down by the succubus' strike. Quickly regaining altitude, Kurumu banked around for another attempted strike. As she dove for another attempt, Devon quickly side-stepped her charge, and delivered a quick round-house kick into her back, which sent her reeling through the air. She was about to collide head-first into a tree, but she quickly regained her balance and shot off into the air, avoiding a knockout. Flying quickly, she took aim at another target: Moka, who was standing there watching the battle unfold. Moving faster than she thought he could, Devon got in between her and Moka, delivering a back-flip kick that sent the succubus straight up.

Kurumu managed to regain her balance in the air, which frustrated Devon. 'That blow would have knocked a soldier out cold,' he thought in annoyance, 'if only I had my Paralyzer...' He mentally shook his head. There was no time to worry about his weapon, he had lost it some time ago to the Pirates, instead he focused his attention on the fight. He could use his 'true' form, but he would be a sitting duck for the few seconds it took to transform, and Kurumu was attacking too quickly.

Kurumu was beyond pissed now. Not only was the subject of her anger not dying, he managed to knock her senseless... twice! Though she had recovered quickly, she knew that getting close to him might be a dangerous prospect. He seemed quite skilled in hand-to-hand combat, although she was too... kind of, mostly due to her claws. And when she tried to target Moka, he showed he was fast as well. 'Shame I have to kill him,' she thought, 'he would have made quite the servant.'

Moka ran to her friend's side. "Devon! You have to remove my rosary!" she urged him, "I can't do it myself!" Devon hesitated for a moment, seeming to struggle with something. But he quickly shook his head, and made to yank off the rosary, only for it not to come off!

"What the?!" Devon tried to pull it repeatedly, but it didn't budge. Moka was shocked as well. Why in the world would it not come off?! 'Why did it come off before? Why won't it now?!' Devon swore in his head.

Kurumu simply laughed as she watched them. "I have to admit Devon," she said, "you're quite resilient. And you Moka, I guess the rumors about you being a vampire are just that: rumors. I _was_ just going to kill Devon and make you suffer. But now I'm just going to kill you both!" She prepped herself for another dive.

Moka grabbed Devon, pulling him close to her, "If you want to fight someone, than fight me!" she cried, "Devon is my friend, and I don't want to see him hurt! This isn't about his blood!"

Kurumu merely scoffed, "Don't make me laugh!"

'No! All of this happened just because I was under that stupid spell!' he thought. "Moka's willing to protect me," he said quietly, before yelling, "And I'm willing to do the same for her!" As he declared that, he gave another tug on the rosary, this time pulling it off.

A brilliant glow engulfed the area, causing Kurumu to shield her eyes. 'W-What!?' she thought. As the light started to die down, she could see Moka transforming, the energy swirling around her in unimaginable proportions. 'Such supernatural energy! Her hair is turning silver... Is this her true form?!'

Devon gazed at the rosary in surprise, 'First this thing comes off, then it won't, and now it does,' he thought, 'How does this thing work?'

Kurumu gritted her teeth in frustration, "Vampire or not, I will not lose here! I can't!"

"What are you talking about?!" Devon questioned, thinking she was crazy for still wanting to fight, "You don't stand a chance!"

"I can't lose!" Kurumu declared, "My race is dying out. In order to prevent that, we succubi have to find our Destined One! Our true love!" She glared down at Moka, "But because of _her_, my plan is ruined! You will pay for interfering with my plans Moka Akashiya!"

Devon was slightly surprised at this information, but Moka merely chuckled. "I will pay? For interfering with your selfish little plans?" she sent a glare toward Kurumu, causing the girl to shudder, "You girl need to learn a little... humility."

Kurumu growled, forgetting her fear and charging at the vampire with all the speed of a diving falcon, ready to slice her apart. Moka merely smirked as she effortlessly dodged the succubus' attack, getting behind her and grabbing her tail. "Too slow," Moka stated.

'My tail!' Kurumu was surprised at the vampire's speed. "What if I tore this tail off?" Moka asked sinisterly, "Would you know your place then?"

"Please, Nooooo!" Kurumu screamed as Moka slammed her into the ground, leaving a large crater from the impact. Pain exploded from her body as she coughed up a small amount of blood. Struggling to regain her breath, and her senses, she looked up to see Moka smirking at her victory.

"Your raise your claws against me and think to get away with it?" she asked, her demonic aura flaring visibly, along with a murderous intent. "I'm going to make sure you never dare cross me again." Kurumu could only whimper in fear, she couldn't believe she was going to die here.

"N-No... please..." she managed to gasp out. However, Devon stepped in front of the advancing vampire, his right arm, which still held the rosary, held out in a protective fashion.

"What do you think you're doing?" Moka questioned, "Move! Not only did that bitch trick you, she tried to kill you."

"I know," Devon said in an even tone, his blue-green eyes glaring at Moka's red. "But I think she's learned her lesson. So let her go."

"She tried to kill you, and me, and you want me to spare her?" Moka demanded as she returned his gaze. She was surprised that he was standing firm against her power, his eyes held absolutely no fear.

"Yes," Devon stated, "I don't think she's a bad person at heart. Sure she can be dark, but... I think some people would say the same thing about you. And I'm pretty sure if we gave her the chance, we could all be friends."

"Hmph, friends?" Moka said as she snatched the rosary from Devon's hand. "Don't get the wrong idea, I just didn't want my favorite treat stolen. I'm not like the 'other' Moka." With that, she reattached the rosary to its chain, sealing her powers and reverting her to her pink-haired self. She slumped forward into Devon's arms.

Holding onto his friend, he glanced toward Kurumu, who was sitting on the ground, watching the conversation between the two. "Kurumu," he said, gaining the girl's attention, "I'm willing to put this whole mess behind us. _But_, I'm also going to give you a warning. I _do not_ want you to try anything like this again. If you do, I can't guarantee you'll survive." His voice held absolute certainty. Kurumu merely nodded, shocked that he would forgive her so easily, even if it was with a warning.

'Could he be..?' she began to think, before Moka groaned, catching her's and Devon's attention.

"Well, you weren't out as long as last time," he told the pinkette as she opened her eyes. She merely nodded in response. "Can you stand?" he asked.

"Yes, I'll be fine." She told him as she did get up.

"Good," he said, walking over to help Kurumu up, "Now then, let's..."

THOOOM

A distant explosion caught the attention of all three. Devon instantly got into a crouching position, his eyes scanning the treeline, looking for any movement.

"What was that?" Moka asked. Devon raised his hand, telling her to be silent. He did the same with Kurumu. The three sat in silence for a few moments, listening.

He motioned for the two of them to stay where they were, not saying a thing as he did. Not waiting for a response, Devon made his way into the forest, trying to find the source of the sound. Moka and Kurumu watched him go off.

"What do you think it was?" Kurumu quietly asked, a little unnerved.

Moka merely shook her head in response, indicating that she didn't know. She was just as nervous as Kurumu. Whatever had caused that explosion, had set Devon on edge. She had seen few, if any, things that made him nervous, and she had seen the look in his eyes as he walked off. They held suspicion, anger, and a look of shock. At what, she could only guess.

The two girls waited silently, hoping Devon would return soon. So focused were they on waiting for the young soldier, neither of them noticed a shadow creeping up on them from behind.

* * *

Devon moved quickly and methodically through the trees, his senses on high alert. The explosion was caused by a concussive force, that much he knew. But what exactly launched the attack was what worried him. He had a hunch what it might have been, but he hoped beyond hope that he was wrong.

He continued his search in silence, even his thoughts were quiet, focused only on locating his objective. He eventually came to a small clearing. He didn't step out into said clearing just yet. He had spotted the source, or at least the result, of the earlier blast. A small smoking crater was smoldering in the clearing's center. He could tell that the blast was definitely caused by a concussive missile of sorts, judging by the angle of debris on one side of the crater. He glanced around the clearing from his hiding spot, scanning the trees and shadows for any sign of movement.

'I don't see anything,' he thought, 'better try this.' His eyes seemed to change, although no one was around to notice. The iris' changed into a glowing blue, his pupils became slits, and his view changed. He now saw everything in a pulse of sorts. The 'pulses' he was seeing in were the life-force of each thing in the area. Casting another glance around the clearing, he saw that the trees, although appearing dead, did have small amounts of energy left. Ignoring that, he kept scanning, searching for the source of the blast.

Finding nothing, he returned his vision to normal, and carefully made his way into the clearing. Standing at the edge of the crater, which was no wider than a half-meter or so, he knelt to examine it. Looking it over, he could tell that, besides the explosive force, traces of energy were apparent in the crater. 'Looks almost like... plasma burns...' he thought, before slamming his fist into the ground in frustration, 'Damn... So they _are_ here...' He was about to make his way back to the girls, when a scream pierced the air, it was a scream he knew.

"Moka!" He yelled. It had been a trap, to lure him away from the weaker prey, and he fell for it. 'Son of a bitch, now I'm mad,' he swore in his head, as he began running toward the two girls. As he ran, he changed into his 'true' lizard form. He was going to show no mercy to this thing for attacking his friends!

* * *

Moka backed away from the thing in front of her, trying to keep herself between it and Kurumu, who was still injured from the fight with Moka's 'Inner' self, and could hardly stand as it was. The creature in front of her gave a chittering screech, advancing on the two.

It was bipedal, standing about 8 feet tall. It had a mixture of insectoid and avian characteristics, with a beak-like snout that was lined with needle-sharp teeth. It was also covered in a silvery-blue armor, although it looked like it had seen better days. Multiple portions of the armor were charred and dented, and what looked to be where spikes or something should be on it's back, were instead stubs that leaked a fluid of sorts. The unknown creature was also missing its right arm from the elbow down. It looked like the arm was blasted off. The arm wound was leaking, or bleeding, a fluid similar to it's back. The creature growled as it raised it's left arm, a type of rocket launcher or something attached to it.

Moka, sensing what it was trying to do, grabbed Kurumu and leaped to the side, as a yellow missile shot out of the blaster. The projectile impacted the ground where the two had been standing a split-second earlier. Moka quickly got up as the creature trained its weapon on them again. Moka tried to help Kurumu up, but as injured as the succubus was, she knew that the thing would hit them eventually. Moka wondered what she could do in this situation. With her powers sealed, she didn't think she stood a chance against this thing, injured as it was. Another growl issued from the creature's throat, as the launcher on its arm began glowing, signaling its readiness to fire. Moka closed her eyes, and placed herself in front of Kurumu, ready to take the attack. It never came.

A piercing howl reverberated through the air, as a large purple lizard seemed to just fly out of the treeline and tackle the creature, knocking it into a tree. Moka recognized the newcomer.

"Devon!" she yelled in relief, although he gave no indication that he heard her. Instead, he ran at the downed creature, giving it no time to recover. Grabbing it in his jaws, he once more threw the creature into another tree, snapping the tree as it impacted. Giving another howl, he leaped at the creature as it struggled to rise, it's body now heavily damaged, one leg twisted violently to the side. Landing on it, crushing it under his feet, Devon swung his tail around, and impaled the creature on its upper chest area. The attack effectively split its whole upper body, and head, in half. The light left the creature's eyes as Devon pulled his tail from its carcass. Devon let loose another howl, this time, one of victory.

Moka was shocked at Devon's actions. Unlike the fight with Saizou, Devon showed absolutely _no_ mercy toward this strange creature. Instead, he had killed it in cold blood. Devon walked over to the two girls, after reverting to his human form.

"You two alright?" he asked, clearly worried. Kurumu merely nodded, still in shock at the event's that had just occurred. Moka however, after confirming she was alright, had a question.

"Devon, what was that thing?"

Looking back at the creature's corpse, almost glaring at it, he responded, "That, Moka, was a Zebesian."

"Z...zebesian?" she looked at him, confused.

"It's a member of the Space Pirates." he almost growled, still glaring at the thing's corpse, "Although there are many variations of the Pirates, they usually go under the name 'Zebesian' or 'Pirate.' They are also the ones I told you about before."

"But... How did it get here?!" Moka asked.

Devon shook his head, "I don't know. My only guess is, by the way this thing looks, that it followed me here."

"But you're mother stayed behind didn't she? So, how...?"

"Like I said, I don't know." he told her, "Maybe it managed to sneak by her, though it obviously was damaged pretty badly. I'm surprised it managed to track me though. Damn Pirates." He then returned his attention to Kurumu, who was still sitting on the ground, confused beyond all measure at what he and Moka were talking about. He sighed, "I'm betting you have a lot of questions huh?" he asked her.

She nodded.

"Well, I'll tell you all about it, _after_ we get you to the infirmary." With that, he picked her up piggyback style, and carried her to the infirmary, Moka following. He also made a mental note to return here and dispose of the corpse. The last thing he wanted was for someone to find that thing.

* * *

The next day, Devon was walking to school, lost in his thoughts. After telling Kurumu all about himself, she was quite surprised, and a little confused, but decided to accept his explanation. He had left her in the infirmary, and went back to the location of the fight to try and dispose of the Zebesian's corpse. Unfortunately, he didn't know what to do with the thing exactly. He could sink it in the ocean, but considering that it was cybernetic, the last thing he wanted to do was poison the waters. He thought of burning the corpse, but the metal parts of the thing were heat-resistant, so that was a no-go, as he wanted to erase every _trace_ of this thing. He eventually just snuck it into his room, hoping it wouldn't start to stink. He would figure out what to do with it later.

After hauling it to his room, he spotted something. Attached to the creature's hip, like it was holstered, he discovered a black and silver pistol-like weapon. Unholstering it, he examined the weapon, and came to a startling discovery.

'My Paralyzer...!' he thought in wonder. Why in the world did this thing have his weapon? The answer came to him almost immediately. These things loved to loot people, maybe it saw the weapon as a treasure of sorts, considering how rare this specific type of Paralyzer was. Flicking a small switch on the pistol's side, the barrel seemed to pop up, and a long, whip-like blade, made entirely out of yellow, solidified plasma, extended. He swung it around a few times, making sure not to hit anything in his room, knowing that it could cut almost anything. Satisfied that the weapon wasn't tampered with in any way, he 'sheathed' the blade and placed the weapon in his desk drawer. After that, he had fallen asleep, tired from the day's events.

Now he was walking to class, his Paralyzer covertly hidden in his jacket. He would only bring it out if he really needed too, but would otherwise carry it with him, even if it was only for the sentimental value it held for him. He was brought out of his thoughts when he saw Moka walk up to him.

"Morning Devon!" she said.

"Good morning, Moka," he responded, smiling. Something about her almost always cheerful attitude always brought a smile to his face. They eventually began talking about yesterday, specifically, Moka brought up the subject of her rosary.

"So the rosary _talked_ to you?" he asked a little incredulously.

"Yeah," she nodded, "the voice ended up saving us this time, but..."

"Something bugging you?" he asked, concerned.

"It's just, maybe the seal's weakening," she said.

"Hmm..." He didn't really know what to say.

"Devon?" she asked softly, "If it ever came to where the seal stops working, would you... still like me?"

He gave her a smile as he answered, "Of course I would Moka! We're friends right? I wouldn't let anything _ever_ change that."

She smiled brightly at his declaration, and embraced him in a hug, happy to have made a friend like Devon.

Devon returned her hug. He, too, was happy to have made a friend like Moka. "Come on," he said after they separated, "We don't want to be late for class."

Moka nodded and the two friends continued walking to class, unaware they were being followed by a certain bluenette, until...

"Good morning!" Kurumu happily greeted the two. Devon and Moka both jumped in surprise at Kurumu's greeting.

"Kurumu!" Moka asked after calming down from the initial scare. "What is it?"

Kurumu held up the basket she was carrying, removing the cloth covering it to reveal cookies. "I baked these cookies for you Devon!" She held them towards him, a silent gesture of "Try one."

"That was nice of you." he said, taking one of the cookies. Though he was slightly hesitant, what if she tried something again? Mentally shrugging the thought off, he took a small bite of the cookie, and was surprised at how tasty it was! "Whoa, these are really good!" he said, quickly finishing it and taking another, "Moka you have to try these." handing her one.

Moka took a hesitant bite, and was just as surprised as Devon, "These _are_ good!"

Kurumu smiled and blushed as they complimented her cooking.

"So, what made you decide to bake these Kurumu?" he asked her.

"Consider it a two-fold 'thank you,'" she said, "I even have to thank you Moka," Moka looked at her confused, "Even after what I did, to both you and Devon, you still put yourself between that Zebe.. se... alien thing, and me. For that, I thank you." she said bowing. Moka blushed, it was weird having this girl thank her, especially after yesterday's events.

"And the other part?" Devon said.

At this, Kurumu blushed deeper than before. "Well... Remember when I said I was searching for my Destined One?" she asked. Both Moka and Devon nodded. "Well I decided... that Devon is the one!" she declared.

"Oh rea..." Devon began, before he and Moka both exclaimed, "Wait... Whaaaat?!"

"Oh come on! You can't expect me _not_ to fall for you after yesterday!" Kurumu said, "Even after everything I did, you still forgave me, and even saved me from that alien thing. I'm totally in love!"

Kurumu then grabbed Devon in an embrace, "So, when should we plan the wedding?" she asked. Devon couldn't answer, as his face was currently being smothered by Kurumu's chest.

"Kurumu!" Moka yelled, trying to pry her off of Devon, "You're suffocating him!"

"Just because I thanked you," Kurumu said, glaring at Moka, "Don't think that I'll just let you have him!"

While the two girls struggled, Devon thought to himself, 'How in the world did I get myself in this mess?'

* * *

**Well, there's chapter two! Not sure what else to say other than please read and review! Try to keep all reviews positive please!**


	4. Witchling and Ghalmanians

**Draconeelans here! Sorry about such a wait before updating, I was having serious writer's block. That and other ideas for stories keep popping up in my head, some of which I might decide to write.**

**Anyways, here's another chapter of **_**Metroid: Rosario**_**!**** Before we get to it, I have something I want to say. In response to a review and a PM from sonicfighter21354, I would like to say: I have **_**no **_**plans on giving Devon a Power Suit. He's going to rely on his training with Samus, as well as his abilities in his 'true' lizard form (some of those abilities he can use in his human form); which, for those who haven't figured it out yet, is the adolescent form of Ridley. I do plan on revealing powers that Ridley himself didn't possess. What those powers are, you'll have to wait and find out. **

**Another thing, I've decided that this story will follow the anime, up to a certain point. After that, I'll begin to follow the manga more. My reasoning for this is that I want to introduce a certain character before the whole Police Commission Arc.**

**Well, without further ado, here's chapter 3! **

* * *

'Why do I get the feeling that tests shouldn't occur this early?' Devon thought to himself. Students were currently swarming the bulletin board, searching for their scores. Mid-terms were already upon them, since the curriculum of Yokai Academy mirrored that of human schools. Though it felt to Devon that they occurred earlier than what would be normal, or was it just that the year was going by quickly for him? Shrugging, he walked up the board, looking for his name. He eventually found it.

'Number 40, guess that's not too bad.' He really didn't care what place he got. When it came to academics, he did pretty well when it came to math or science, but other subjects held little or no interest to him. Although he had taken a liking to history, wanting to know everything he could about this world, monster or human-wise. He excelled in anything physical or athletic, which was all thanks to his training with his mother, as well as his added abilities from his 'monster' form.

Glancing over, he spotted Moka towards the far right of the board. Walking over to his friend, he spotted her name on the board, she was ranked number 13 in the school. Needless to say, she was getting a lot of praise.

"Wow! Moka's ranked number 13!"

"She's got brains AND beauty!"

"She's amazing!"

"Nice job on the score Moka," Devon said as he walked up to her, smiling.

Turning toward her friend, she returned his smile, "Thanks, Devon! What place did you get?"

"I placed 40."

"Well that's not too bad." She said, "That just means you're above average!"

"I guess." he admitted, "Still didn't think I'd do that well though."

While the two were conversing, a little girl in a witch's outfit was watching them. She had chin-length brown hair and violet eyes. She was specifically eyeing Moka, blushing as she did. Her spying was cut short as she heard a voice behind her.

"Looks like congratulations are in order Yukari,"

The girl, Yukari, turned toward the owner of the voice. Standing behind her were a trio of boys, each with sleazy snake-like eyes and greasy hair. The one in the center, and apparent leader, had a cuff pinned to his left sleeve, signifying his position as class representative.

'They're the guys from my class,' she thought.

"As expected, you're the number one student this year," the leader said, pointing to her name on the board, which held the number 1 spot. "Looks like someone knew what they were doing when they let you skip all those grades, huh?" the leader then sneered, "But you hear this: don't press your luck or you're gonna pay the price."

"Press my luck?"

"Yeah, that's right! For example, that stupid witch costume of yours!" the skinny crony exclaimed, pointing over-dramatically.

"B-but..." Yukari started.

"What? You think that just because you're so smart that you don't have to follow the rules?" the class rep mocked. "I hate little brats like you..."

The girl then waved a wand with a heart-shaped end behind her back, and three wash-bins fell on the rep and his cronies, causing all of them to hit the ground. Yukari started laughing, "Serves you right for messing with me!"

"Grr, you're going to pay for that you little...!" The leader charged at Yukari as he said that, until he stopped when Moka placed herself between the two of them.

"It's not nice to pick on others!" she said.

The leader growled, "Get out of my way!" He was about to push Moka aside when Devon stepped forward to help out if needed.

"Go ahead," Devon said, leveling a glare at the trio of students, "Give me a reason to throttle you guys."

The class representative snarled, but decided to leave the situation as is, seeing as they were attracting a crowd. As they left, Yukari was lost in thought as she tried to contemplate the actions of her saviors, realizing that Moka had come to her defense and staring at the vampire with shining eyes.

* * *

"That was so cool, Moka you really saved me back there! I should introduce myself, my name's Yukari Sendo."

"Yes, I've heard of you." Moka said. She, Yukari, and Devon were sitting in the cafeteria. "You're in the same grade as us, but you're four years younger."

'Four years...?' Devon thought, before asking, "Did you skip grades or something Yukari?" He was a little surprised that an eleven-year old was in high school.

"Yep! That's because I'm a genius!" Yukari said.

"You scored number 1 on the tests, so that's no surprise," Moka told her, smiling, "And your outfit rocks!"

"Oh, that's very nice of you to say, but I'm not the impressive one," Yukari said bashfully, "You're the one who's kindhearted, and smart, and beautiful and I... I..."

She then leaped at Moka, tackling her to the ground in a hug.

"I love you Moka!" she declared. This caught everyone who heard the little girl off-guard, Devon and Moka especially.

"Every time I passed you in the hallway, I fell in love with you more and more!" Yukari gushed as she fondled Moka's breasts, "And since you saved me from those jerks, I decided that you're the one!"

"W-What do you mean, 'the one?'" Moka asked, slightly hysteric.

"Duh! I want you to be my girlfriend!" Yukari exclaimed.

"Your what!?" Devon almost shouted.

Moka had almost no clue what to do in this situation.

"W-well, I could be a girl, and a friend," Moka suggested, still flustered.

"Yipee! I'm so excited!" Yukari squealed.

'Oh man,' Devon thought, 'Why do I get the feeling that this is not going to go well?'

* * *

Students were gawking and staring as Moka and Devon were walking down the hall. Why were they staring? Because Yukari was practically hanging off of Moka via her breasts. To say that the pink-haired vampire was uncomfortable was an understatement.

"Did anyone ever tell you your boobs are bigger than they look?" Yukari giggled.

"Look at her squeezing Moka's fun bags! It's not fair!" one student said.

"I'm flat as a pancake myself so getting to squeeze ones like yours are a dream come true!" Yukari said.

Moka however, was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. "Um, Yukari, could you let go? I'm starting to feel a little weak."

The fact that she didn't let go started to annoy Devon. "Hey, Yukari," he said, gaining the little girl's attention, "You shouldn't be doing that, especially in public."

Yukari looked at the teen, "I believe I've heard of you Devon Aran. You're above average when it comes to academics, and your athletic skills are far above the other students. But there's no information on your personal skills or interests..."

Devon merely shrugged, glancing away as he did, "Maybe I don't want everything to be known." he said in a low voice.

Yukari quirked an eyebrow at that. "Too bad I have no interest in you," she said, "And as a goddess, Moka deserves better than you!"

"What are you..." Devon started, but didn't finish as Yukari pulled out her wand and gave it a wave. Almost instantly, cleaning supplies in a nearby closet came to life, and attacked Devon. His training kicked in and he grabbed one of the brooms that nearly hit him. He used it to swat at the other objects, but still ended up getting hit by a couple of the buckets.

"Feel the power of my magic!" Yukari boasted.

"Magic?" Devon and Moka question together.

Yukari looked at Moka, "Yep! Because I'm a Witch!" she giggled.

'This girl's crazy!' Devon thought, still fighting off the rampant cleaning items.

Yukari then declared, "From now on, I'll use my magic to keep away any guy who gets close to my Moka!"

From behind a corner a short way down the hall, the class rep and his posse were watching what was going on and snickered.

"Did you hear that?" the class rep grinned.

"Revealing your true identity is against school rules." one of his cronies said.

'Your way too arrogant you little brat,' the rep thought to himself.

* * *

"Didn't think buckets could hit that hard..." Devon muttered. He was currently sitting in the infirmary, along with Kurumu, who was helping him tend to the minor cuts from the incident with the cleaning supplies. Having dealt with worse, Devon shrugged off the pain from the disinfectant like it was nothing.

"Sounds like you had a rough time," Kurumu commented.

"Tell me about it," Devon nearly groaned in annoyance, "She won't even let me talk to Moka."

"The girl was... Yukari Sendo? Right?" Kurumu asked.

"Yeah." he nodded, "You know her?"

"I know _about_ her." she said, "For such a genius, she's also a selfish little brat. Always playing mean pranks on the other students. It's no wonder that no one likes her." Internally, Kurumu was thanking Yukari for the 'favor' she'd done for her. With Yukari's lovesick clinging keeping Moka away, Kurumu was free to stake her claim on Devon.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Yukari was sitting outside the infirmary window, spying on the two. "Sorry Aran," she murmured, "But Moka and her breasts are all mine." Using an effigy doll she had made, with a strand of Devon's hair added in, she watched as Devon punched himself in the face, just to make sure that it worked. "Why don't you get grabby with the big-breasted cow?" she muttered.

Inside, Devon groaned in pain. 'What in the...?'

"Did you just... punch yourself in the face?" Kurumu questioned.

"It wasn't intentional..." he groaned, "My arm just moved on it's own." He didn't have time to say more as his body jerked forward, his hands latching onto Kurumu's breasts, causing the Succubus to moan in surprise and sudden delight. 'What the hell?!' he thought in surprise.

"Hang on! Why are my hands moving on their own!?" he yelled, trying hard to control his body.

"Ooh~ Devon~," Kurumu purred, smiling as she did, "If you wanted to touch, you just had to ask~! Not that I mind!"

"Wait, I'm not doing this," Devon exclaimed, "Well, technically I am touching you, but I'm not... Goddammit!"

"Devon?!" a new voice exclaimed. Both Kurumu and Devon looked toward the door, and saw Moka standing there, a look of shock on her face as she saw what was happening.

"Moka!" Devon exclaimed, "This isn't what it looks like!"

"What are you...?" she started before looking away. "I knew it! You used your love Charm on him again didn't you!?" she exclaimed, obviously at Kurumu.

"You know I wouldn't do that!" Kurumu exclaimed, angry that Moka would accuse her of that. She tried to get up, but for some reason, Devon wouldn't let go, until he fell off the bed as she moved.

"Then what...?" Moka started, before spotting something outside the window: the top of a very familiar witch hat. It was then that the three of them heard laughter outside. Looking toward the window, Kurumu and Devon also spotted Yukari outside, a voodoo doll in her hand, laughing at Devon.

"It's Yukari!" Moka exclaimed. Yukari noticed them looking at her and quickly ducked down, trying to hide, and failing.

'This is getting ridiculous!' Devon thought in frustration.

* * *

"I'm getting fed up with your little pranks Yukari." Devon said to the young witch. He, Moka, and Kurumu were confronting Yukari in an empty class. He was trying to keep his temper in check, mostly at Moka's request. She wanted him to go easy on Yukari since the witch was 'just a kid.' Devon had insisted that was no excuse, saying she needed to learn her lesson.

"Yukari, you're a nice girl, but you shouldn't be playing all these pranks." Moka said.

"Yeah, they aren't nice!" Kurumu added.

"Listen," Devon spoke up again, "You've got to stop being so childish. If you don't, no one is going to want to be your friend, and you'll end up all alone."

"Who cares? I'm a genius so if no one is at my level, why should I waste my time being friends with them anyway?" Yukari stated, before her face became solemn, "Plus... what's the big deal? I've been alone from the start."

At that statement, Devon's expression immediately softened. "Yukari, that's..." he started, but never got to finish. Yukari had conjured more wash bins that fell on Devon's head, knocking him to the ground.

Yukari started laughing, "You fell for that one, big time!"

"You little...!" Devon growled, as Yukari fled out of the room. Devon was about to give chase before Moka stopped him.

"Hey, calm down," she told him, "You can't keep getting angry at her."

Devon looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't. Instead, his face became solemn, as what Yukari said echoed in his head: _"I've been alone from the start."_

"Hey, Moka? What did Yukari mean when she said she'd been alone?" he asked his friend. Moka noticed his eyes were sad as he asked that. She remembered when he told her about his life, what he went through. He knew what it was like to be alone.

She didn't get a chance to answer since Kurumu spoke up instead, "You mean you don't know?" Devon shook his head. "Look, Witches are halfway between monster and human, but they're not really considered either one." Kurumu explained. "They're looked down upon by monsters because they're so close to humans. And humans themselves aren't so kind either. Back in the day, there were things like witch hunts and trials. They've been a hated race for a long-time, though nowadays their called half-breeds and are discriminated against. It's not really any wonder she's lonely."

"Must be hard..." Moka said quietly, also knowing what it's like to be an outcast.

'Hated just for being different,' Devon thought to himself, remembering his past. 'I know that all too well.'

"Come on, we got to find her," he suddenly said, making his way to the door.

"Huh?" both girls looked at him curiously.

"I should have tried to understand her better," he said, "Instead, I ended up possibly making things worse. I have to set things right." He left the room after he finished, the girls right behind him.

* * *

Yukari was running around the back of the school, laughing as she did. Although tears were also visible as she ran. Memories of everything the other students had said to her; had said _about_ her. The thought of how mean they all were, brought tears to her face. Though she played pranks on them to get payback, she still felt the sting of everyone's words, and of being alone. She eventually came to a stop behind the Academy, tears still running down her face.

"Who needs friends anyway?" she said quietly to herself. She stood there for a few moments, until someone bumped into her, knocking her down.

"OW!" she exclaimed, before yelling, "That hurt you dumb jerk! Why don't you watch where you're going?!" When she saw who had bumped into though, her expression changed from one of anger, to one of fear.

"Well, well, look who it is," the Class Rep smirked, his cronies chuckling behind him.

"C-Class President?!"

"We know you revealed your true form," one of the cronies said, "And that's against school rules."

"Looks like you need to be punsished," the Rep said, grabbing onto Yukari's wrist and dragging her into the woods. The Rep's cronies followed.

* * *

Devon's search for Yukari led him to the back of the school. As he searched, with no success, his guard was up. Ever since he, Moka, and Kurumu started the search, he had a very uneasy feeling, like something was watching them, or something bad was about to happen. 'Come on Yukari,' he thought, 'Where are you?'

As he reached the area where, unbeknownst to him at the time, Yukari had been dragged away, Moka and Kurumu caught up to him.

"Hey, you guys find anything?" he asked his friends.

Both shook their heads, indicating they didn't find Yukari, or any sign of her. Devon started to get frustrated, where on Earth was she? As he glanced around the area, his eyes caught something he had missed. Walking over and bending down for a closer look, he saw faint impressions in the dirt. It was hard to tell what exactly it could be, unless your were trained to find anything, _anything, _that was out of the ordinary. And he could tell that the marks in the ground, were definitely out of the ordinary.

"Sometimes it pays to be trained by the greatest bounty hunter of her time." he muttered to himself.

"Devon?" He looked up to see that Moka and Kurumu had come up behind him. "Did you find something?" Moka asked.

Giving a nod, he pointed to the ground. Moka and Kurumu almost couldn't see what he was indicating.

"What? Marks on the ground?" Kurumu asked, confused.

"They're not ordinary." he told them, "They may look like simple indentations, windblown dirt or something. But I can tell otherwise."

"You mean, someone made them?" Moka asked. Devon nodded.

"They're drag marks," he told them, "And they lead into the forest."

"Can you tell who, or what, made them?" Moka asked.

Devon studied the marks for a few seconds. To the untrained eye, they looked like something had slithered past, leaving a trail in the dirt. But Devon saw more. Other, larger indents were present in and around the smaller drag trails. He also noticed there were _two_ drag trails, very close to each other. The larger indents, were shaped... like shoes or something.

'Hmm... I wonder...' Devon concentrated on one of his 'true' form's abilities, something he had learned to do. His lizard form had stronger senses in almost every aspect, one of which, was scent. Concentrating on that idea, he managed to pick up a very familiar scent. 'Yukari...!'

"She was here." Devon stated.

"Huh?" both girls gasped. "How do you know?" Moka asked.

"I picked up her scent, we need to move." he said, seriousness in his voice. He quickly took off in the direction of Yukari's scent. The drag trail would be harder to follow without going slowly, and they did not have time for that.

"Wait! Devon!" Moka and Kurumu called as Devon left, almost running. They quickly ran after him. Devon had his own reasons for hurrying. When he caught Yukari's scent, he had also noticed multiple other\smells. Five different scents were there in addition to Yukari's. Two of which were almost identical, and belonged to creatures that shouldn't be in this world. He would wonder how later, right now, Yukari was in grave danger.

'Hang on, Yukari...'

* * *

"OW!" Yukari cried as she was thrown against a tree, "That hurt!"

"'It hurts! It hurts!'" one of the Class Rep's cronies mocked, "Cry me a river!"

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do this," the Rep hissed, "A little brat like you doesn't belong here!"

Before Yukari's terrified eyes, the three boys began to change into their true forms. Their faces elongated as their skin cracked, eyes becoming yellow and slitted. Their hands turned into sharp claws, tails sprouting from their backs. The Class Rep and his cronies were Lizardmen.

"Now what should we do with you?" the Class Rep growled.

"Back off!" Yukari yelled as she began chanting a spell, waving her wand as she did. Before she could complete it however, the Class Rep lunged forward and bit the top of the wand off with his sharp teeth. "Oh no... without my wand..." Yukari murmured fearfully.

The Class Rep spit the wand out of his mouth, "Disgusting," he stated, "I've never tasted anything so terrible in my life."

"Hey, boss," one crony spoke up, "I say we eat her. There's plenty of fog around, so no one will notice."

"Sounds like a plan," the Rep agreed, "I normally don't eat half-breed filth like her, but I think I'll make an exception this time. If only to get the taste of that wand out of my mouth."

The Class Rep lunged forward, his jaws wide open, ready to devour the young witch. Yukari was rooted to the spot in fear, she could see every one of the Lizardmen's sharp teeth, ready to rip her to shreds. Yukari couldn't hold back and screamed in terror.

"Get... Back!" a voice yelled, as the Rep was suddenly hit from the side by a powerful kick, one that knocked him back toward his cronies. The Rep growled, a couple of his teeth were broken by the force of the kick, as he looked at who hit him.

Yukari was shocked as she saw who had come to her rescue. Devon was standing protectively in front of her, a serious look on his face as he glared at the Lizardmen.

"Yukari!" another voice yelled. The young witch turned toward the voice and saw Moka and Kurumu running over to her.

"Moka! Kurumu!" The two girls joined Devon in standing in front of Yukari, forming a protective line in front of the younger girl. Yukari was shocked, even after everything she did, the three standing in front of her still came to her defense? Why?

"Get out of my way!" the Rep growled at the three standing in front of the witch who so deserved the punishment he wanted to give.

"No chance of that," Devon said, his gaze unwavering, "Witch or not, I'm not letting you harm her!"

"Then we'll just kill the three of you along with her!" the leader yelled as he charged the group, his cronies right behind him.

Devon grinned as he signaled the girls to step back. "How about a little lizard on lizard?" he said as he began his own transformation. His clothes merging with his body, which rapidly grew in size. He got on all fours, scales and feathers appearing on his body. His features changed to that of his lizard form. His change complete, he gave a fierce howl.

The Lizardmen had stopped their charge as Devon completed his transformation, a look of shock on their face at what he had become. Yukari was equally shocked, as Devon now towered over her, in a form that she'd never seen before.

Neither Yukari nor the Lizardmen had much time to think of anything else, as Devon unleashed another howl, leaping at the group of Lizardmen as he did. The Rep and one of his cronies managed to shake out of their shock and leap to the side, avoiding the larger lizard's attack. The other crony wasn't as lucky, as he was knocked down and pinned under Devon's greater weight. Not giving the pinned Lizardman any chance to recover, Devon grabbed the crony in his jaws and threw him into a tree. The Lizardman crashed headfirst, with great enough impact to snap the tree, which promptly fell on the now unconscious crony, trapping him underneath it.

The transformed Devon turned his gaze on the two remaining Lizardmen, who were standing off to the side. The two still seemed slightly shocked at what Devon had become. They quickly snapped back to their senses as Devon pounced on the two of them. They managed to avoid the hit, diving to either side of the lizard. As he landed, Devon swiped his claw at the lead Lizardman, who narrowly managed to avoid the attack, which tore at his clothing, coming within millimeters of his skin.

Devon quickly turned toward the other Lizardman, who was moving toward the three girls. Giving off another screech, he leaped at the crony, swiping his claw as he landed. Unlike the Rep, this Lizardman couldn't dodge the attack, and was sent flying toward his leader. The two collided and were sent sprawling by the attack. The transformed soldier stood in front of his friends, glaring at the two bullies in front of him.

Before Devon could continue his attack, Moka ran up to him. "Devon! I want to fight too!" Being unable to speak, Devon looked at Moka, with an expression in his eyes that said: "Why?"

"Me too!" Kurumu said as she shifted to her true form, "I may not like the kid for messing with you, but I _really_ don't like people who hurt others for no reason!"

Giving the closest thing he could to a shrug, Devon snaked his tail around and used the smaller spikes at the base of his tail-blade to carefully snag Moka's rosary. Giving a tug, making sure he didn't slice Moka at the same time, the rosary came off.

The remaining Lizardmen trembled as Moka's power was unleashed. Her body morphed into that of her true form. As the light from her transformation died down, she sent an arrogant gaze at the two Lizardmen, before turning her attention toward the large lizard standing next to her. "Interesting." she said, "I believe this is the first time I've seen this form with my own eyes..."

The creature that was Devon merely huffed, his gaze still locked on the two Lizardmen. Moka started to feel annoyed at the lizard, until she remembered that he couldn't speak in this form. Returning her gaze toward the Rep and his minion, who glared at the three standing in front of them. Forgetting his fear, the crony charged toward the group but didn't get far as Kurumu shot forward, slashing at the Lizardman with her claws. Moka was close behind as she delivered a powerful kick to the crony's head. The combined assault sent the Lizardman flying, with gashes all over his body from Kurumu's attack, and a viciously broken jaw from Moka's kick.

"Trash like you can only wield power by ganging up on the weak," she said as she turned her gaze on the Rep, "You're not even worth my time."

The Rep was shocked at the events before him. His comrades had been taken down within seconds of the different transformations. One to the large lizard-like creature, and one by the two girls. He growled, his anger overcoming his fear, he prepared to charge at the group. "Even if I'm outnumbered," he snarled, "I'll still kill all of you!" he then charged.

Noticing the Rep's last pathetic attempt to finish things, Devon moved to lunge at the Lizardman, but he didn't get the chance. All of a sudden, the Rep was yanked off his feet, spun in the air for a second, and seemed to fly toward the group. Reacting quickly, Devon reared back and swiped the Lizardman out of the air. The Rep crashed into the ground, dazed from the attack. He attempted to stand when Moka appeared in front of him, delivering a powerful kick that shattered his teeth, and sent him flying into a nearby pond. Moka smirked as she walked back to the group, but that smirked vanished when she saw Devon. He was glancing around the area, growling, searching for... something.

She was about to say something, when what could only be described as a chittering giggle was heard. Quickly turning at the sound, she barely managed to avoid being hit by globs of liquid, that seemed to come out of nowhere. When the strange liquid hit the ground, everyone saw that it began to eat into the ground, leaving small imprints in its wake.

'Acid...' Moka thought. She looked around for the source of the attack, but she couldn't see anything. Devon was scanning the area as well. He knew this creature, or at least what it was. He knew it's attack patterns. It would remain invisible, spewing globs of acid, until attacked and hit, upon which it would resort to physical attacks. Knowing it would target the easier prey, he used his tail to 'herd' the girls (much to Moka's ire at being pushed around) into a circle around Yukari, the only one who couldn't help in the fight right now. The three continued glancing around the area, until the giggle was heard again.

Snapping his head around at the sound, Devon saw the globs of acid leave the invisible creature's mouth. Attacking quickly, he stabbed his tail toward that spot, and was satisfied when he saw blood spray from the glancing wound his tail-blade caused. Knowing it was useless to keep hiding, the creature faded into view.

The strange creature was bipedal, with an incredibly long tail that was curled up in a spiral. Sections of its reptilian body were covered in armor, and its three-fingered hands were tipped with sharp claws. It had large eyes that appeared to bulge out slightly, and look in different directions at once. It was a Ghalmanian, a chameleon- like creature that was subservient to the Space Pirates. The creature growled as it launched it's tongue, which was tipped with what looked like a metallic grappling claw, at the group.

Before the Ghalmanian could snag anyone, Moka caught the claw in her grasp. The creature tried to retract it's tongue, but the only result was it slowly sliding toward the vampire. Smirking at the creature's attempts, Moka yanked on the tongue, launching the Ghalmanian into the air. Devon responded to Moka's move, and jumped into the air. The Ghalmanian was helpless as Devon stabbed his tail into the creature's head, killing it instantly.

Kurumu and Yukari were once more shocked at Devon's actions toward this strange creature (for Yukari it was the first time she saw him kill anything). When Devon landed, he flicked the remains of the creature off his tail, before reverting back to his human form.

"I'm guessing that was one of those Space Pirates?" Moka asked, not wasting anytime getting answers.

"Close. That was a Ghalmanian, a creature that the Pirates have been experimenting with." he told her, before his expression became serious, almost nervous. "This is troubling..."

"What?" Kurumu questioned.

"Well, first there was that Zebesian," he explained, "Now there's this Ghalmanian... Why on Earth are they even here?" He thought for a minute, before he gasped. The girls were about to ask, when he leaped at Moka, knocking her out of the path of multiple globs of yellow liquid, the same that the Ghalmanian had launched.

Moka was about to give Devon a piece of her mind, when she heard him hiss in pain. Looking at his back, she noticed that one of the globs had managed to graze him, and it was quickly eating away at his clothes, and burning his skin. She then realized that he had protected her from the attack. Getting to their feet, Devon more slowly, due to the pain in his back, they looked around, trying to find some sign of what attacked them.

"You already killed that thing, so where is this attack coming from?" Moka demanded.

"Another Ghalmanian," Devon said through his teeth, biting back a groan. Although the acid from the creatures wasn't very strong compared to some others, it still hurt like blazes, "I nearly forgot that these things almost always fight in pairs."

"You sure picked a fine time to remember that little tidbit of information," Moka scoffed.

Devon remained silent, wondering what to do. The second Ghalmanian wouldn't attack as recklessly since it's partner was taken out. It would wait until their guard was down, then strike. Considering that all of them were constantly scanning the area, that might be some time till it actually did anything.

'Damn Pirates,' Devon swore in his head. These things were normally like any territorial beast, fighting at anything threatening them. But because these Ghalmanians had been experimented on, turned into bio-weapons, that instinct had obviously been suppressed, resulting in a creature that was smarter than it looked. 'How can I find where it is if I can't see it,' he thought, 'Wait... see..?.. That's it!'

Concentrating through the pain in his back, which was already fading, he focused his eyesight. His eyes changed, becoming a brilliant electric-blue color, the pupils slitted. The change didn't go unnoticed by the girls.

"What's with your eyes?" Yukari questioned.

"Something I learned to do," Devon answered, not looking at the girl, still searching for the hidden creature, "It enables me to see the life force of anything in the area, viewed as a 'pulse' of sorts, that sorrounds the thing it's connected too." Devon continued scanning, until he saw a familiar shape... Directly behind Yukari!

"Yukari behind you!" He yelled, his hand going into his jacket.

"Huh!?" Yukari turned around but didn't see anything. That is, until a yellow bolt flew over her head and collided with something. A pained screech was heard as the Ghalmanian faded into view, electricity coursing over it's body. Looking at where the bolt came from, she saw Devon aiming a strange looking gun of sorts at the creature.

"Moka, take it out!" he yelled, still in pain from the acid. Moka wasted no time, launching herself at the stunned chameleon-like creature. Drawing back her leg as she got close, she delivered a ferocious roundhouse that, with a clearly audible 'SNAP' launched the Ghalmanian through multiple trees. The creature eventually impacted with the ground, it's head twisted violently and unnaturally to the side, indicating a broken neck. The Ghalmanian didn't even twitch, let alone move.

Devon gave a sigh, "Glad that's over." he then made is way over to Yukari. Throughout the whole fight, she was the one in the most danger.

Yukari was quite shocked at the course of the fight. The three in front of her had taken the Lizardmen out within seconds, and the strange lizard things hardly lasted any longer. She looked up as Devon walked over to her.

"You okay?" he asked her. Despite the pain having receded, he still winced as he knelt in front of her.

"Why? I did such appalling things..." Yukari muttered, "Why would... you rescue me... let alone care about me?"

"We all know what it's like to be alone Yukari," Devon told her, a small smile on his face, "Some more so than others. But that doesn't mean we have to suffer alone, that's why we're all friends. And I'm willing to be your friend too, if you'll let me."

This information and rush of emotions was too much for Yukari. She broke down and started crying, Devon holding her close. After a minute or so, Yukari stopped crying, and had a question for Devon.

"Devon. What exactly are you? And what were those things?" She looked at him curiously.

"I'll explain later Yukari," he told her, "Right now I..." he turned toward the corpses of the Ghalmanians, just in time to see them dissolve right before his eyes. The others noticed too, and watched as the creatures melted away into nothing.

"That's new..." Devon muttered.

"What happened?" Moka asked, as she walked up next to him. Devon noticed she was her pink-haired self again. She must have reattached her rosary when they weren't looking.

Looking back to where the Ghalmanians were a second ago, Devon explained as best he could, "Not sure, my only guess is it's something the Space Pirates did. To destroy evidence or something, I don't know." He looked thoughtful for a moment, an almost worried expression on his face. "Why are these things even here?"

The girls were all silent, not sure what to say in this situation. The fact that, to their understanding, Devon's greatest enemies seemed to be appearing here, it honestly made them nervous as well.

Devon eventually sighed, "I'll dwell on it later," turning toward the girls, "Come on, let's get to the infirmary, make sure nothing's damaged." gesturing to his back, which looked like it had second degree burns on it. He knew he would heal quickly, but better safe than sorry.

* * *

_A few days later..._

"Yukari's really changed," Kurumu admired as she and Moka were carrying boxes of supplies to class, "She actually got up in front of her class and apologized for all the pranks she pulled. I think everyone started to feel guilty too... about the way they treated her."

"I'm glad," Moka smiled as she opened the classroom door, "It shows she's growing up." They walked into the classroom to find...

"Oh, Devon, I just love you to death!" Yukari cried happily as she hugged Devon around his waist.

"Come on Yukari! Knock it off!" Devon tried to pry the clingy little girl off, with little success.

"Yukari!" Moka called, surprised to see the young Witch here, as well as her change in attitude toward Devon.

"Oh, Moka!" Yukari greeted, "Our classes are right next to each other. I should come over and play sometime!"

"What's going on?" the vampire asked.

"I'm not entirely sure myself," Devon sighed.

"After all, I already love you Moka, so... I've fallen madly in love with Devon too!" the little Witch declared.

"Hey, you," Kurumu growled as she rushed over to Devon's side, "Devon's mine, you hear!"

"Hey, let go!" Yukari demanded as she and Kurumu began tugging Devon back and forth.

"Girls, could you please stop...?" Devon begged, though it didn't seem to help.

As the two girls were arguing amongst themselves, with Devon in the crossfire, Moka held her head low as she muttered, "Your both just wasting your breath..." They turned to Moka, staring at her questioningly before Moka jumped at them. "Devon belongs to me!"

"Moka wait, not like this...!" Devon pleaded.

"Capu-CHUU~!"

"Dammit!"

* * *

_Unknown location_

A lone figure is seen walking through a darkened hallway. Although hard to see exactly what it was, it was clear that the creature was not human, with insectoid and reptilian characteristics evident even in the dark. Coming to the end of the hall, the figure entered a code into a datapad, unlocking the door it stood in front of. Walking into the room, the figure glanced around.

Multiple machines were set up throughout the room, computers showing a variety of data. The greatest feature of the room however, which was very large as it is, was a large tank of sorts that dominated the center of the room. Walking up to the tank, the creature knelt in front of it. It was impossible to see what was in the tank, dark as it was. The figure knew it couldn't do anything about that, regulations kept it from doing anything.

"What news?" a voice echoed through the area.

"We've lost contact with the spies sent to the Yokai realm." the kneeling figure replied.

"How?" the voice asked, anger threading it's tone.

"From the data sent to us before contact was lost," the figure replied, "It appears that they were discovered, and subsequently killed by a group of Yokai."

"Once again," the voice asked, "How were they found?"

"We managed to catch a glimpse from the Ghalmanian's recorder." the creature stood and moved toward one of the closer consoles, and inputted a few commands. Moments later, a video feed began playing. Due to the dimensional effects of the multiple realms, the feed was awash with static, but the picture was clear enough to see what, or rather _who_ had noticed the chameleon-like creatures.

A large lizard-like creature was shown killing off the Ghalmanian, with the help of what looked like two girls. The static was pervasive enough to prevent them from identifying the two. But it was impossible to mistake the lizard. A low rumble reverberated throughout the room, the source of the voice was obviously both unhappy, yet intrigued by this development.

"Well, well," the voice mused, "Looks like our old friend is back. Any sign of the Hunter?"

"None," the figure answered, "We can only hope it remains that way."

"Indeed," the voice agreed, "What about our newest experiment?"

"He is responding well to the enhancements," the figure reported, "However, it will still take some time to ensure his body is stable enough to attempt anything."

"Ensure nothing hinders this one," the voice ordered, "We don't want another incident like the boy occurring." The figure nodded in understanding.

"Also," the voice added, "Keep an eye on the Hunter's 'son.' There may come a time we may be able to harness his abilities, whether by his own will, or by force."

"As you wish." the figure bowed as it headed for the door, ready to carry out it's leader's orders.

"One way or another Aran, I _will_ have my revenge!" the voice laughed.

* * *

**And there's chapter three! Took me awhile to get this all down, what with the writer's block and all. Why are the Pirates and their 'pets' appearing in the Yokai realm? What exactly is that 'voice'? Why am I asking these questions? All will be revealed in time. **

**Until then, stay tuned for the next chapter of _Metroid: Rosario_!**

**Note: Because I'm trying to write two stories at once; well, trying to alternate updates between the two, as well as another story possibly coming up; it may be awhile before this fic is updated again. All I ask is for my readers to be patient, I will try to update as often as I can. Thank you for understanding! Please read and review! NO flames please!**


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